Is climate change real?

Your question touches on current science — I'll pull together the evidence and consensus to answer.

Yes, climate change is real. It is supported by unequivocal evidence and an overwhelming scientific consensus.

What science says

> 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.

Major scientific organizations agree. A joint statement from 18 scientific associations states:

> "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."

This consensus is reflected across nearly 200 worldwide scientific organizations that hold the position that climate change has been caused by human action.

Estimates of the level of agreement vary by study:

•About 97% of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening

•A comprehensive review of 88,125 climate-related papers found with high statistical confidence that the scientific consensus on human-caused contemporary climate change exceeds 99% in the peer-reviewed scientific literature

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the international body that assesses climate science, concludes unequivocally that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Its Sixth Assessment Report stated:

> "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land"

And:

> "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."

The evidence

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.

Key measurements cited by NASA and NOAA include:

•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. NASA also notes scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

•Greenhouse gases rising faster than natural rates: 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.

•Ocean warming: The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters 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.

•Ice loss: The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. 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.

•Sea level rise: 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.

Other observed changes include glaciers retreating almost everywhere around the world, decreasing spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere, rapid decline in Arctic sea ice, increasing extreme events, and ocean acidification - acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

In short, the reality of climate change is not based on a single study or opinion, but on multiple independent lines of evidence - temperature records, satellite observations, ocean measurements, ice cores, and climate models - all pointing to the same conclusion: the Earth is warming, and human activities are the principal cause.

Citations (2)

1nasa.govGovernment
Scientific Consensus - NASA Science
Backs: “It is supported by unequivocal evidence and an overwhelming scientific consensus. What science says. 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.”
2nasa.govGovernment
Evidence - NASA Science
Backs: “Its Sixth Assessment Report stated: "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land". And: "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."”