Is climate change real?

Is climate change real? I'll gather the latest scientific evidence to answer you.

Yes - climate change is real, and that it is happening now and is primarily driven by human activities is the established position of the overwhelming majority of climate science.

What science says

> There is scientific consensus that the Earth has been consistently warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, that the rate of recent warming is largely unprecedented, and that this warming is mainly the result of a rapid increase in atmospheric [greenhouse gases]

•Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth’s surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth’s climate.

•Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.

•Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

The leading scientific bodies have endorsed this position:

•Statement from 18 Scientific Associations (2009): "Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver."

•American Association for the Advancement of Science: "Based on well-established evidence, about 97% of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening."

•Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land since pre-industrial times." and also "It is unequivocal that the increase of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed"

According to the IPCC: "Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact."

Why the current change is different from natural change

While Earth’s climate has changed throughout its history, the current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years.

The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia.

This ancient, or paleoclimate, evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly 10 times faster than the average rate of warming after an ice age. Carbon dioxide from human activities is increasing about 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age.

The evidence NASA and other agencies measure

> From global temperature rise to melting ice sheets, the evidence of a warming planet abounds.

1.Global Temperature Is Rising: The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities.

2.The Ocean Is Getting Warmer: The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters (about 328 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit (0.33 degrees Celsius) since 1969. Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.

3.Ice Sheets Are Shrinking: Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.

4.Glaciers Are Retreating: Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska, and Africa.

5.Sea Level Is Rising: Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year.

6.Arctic Sea Ice Is Declining: Both the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly over the last several decades.

Other measured changes include decreasing spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere, increasing frequency of extreme heat and intense rainfall events, and ocean acidification — the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30% since the Industrial Revolution due to CO2 absorption.

In short, the reality of climate change is not based on opinion, but on over a century of observations from ice cores, tree rings, ocean sediments, satellites, and modern instruments, all showing the same warming trend.

Citations (2)

1nasa.govGovernment
Scientific Consensus - NASA Science
Backs: “Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth’s surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth’s climate. Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that climate-warming trends over the…”
2nasa.govGovernment
Evidence - NASA Science
Backs: “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land since pre-industrial times." and also "It is unequivocal that the increase of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities…”