Is climate change real?

Yes, climate change is real.

There is an overwhelming, unequivocal consensus among the global scientific community that the Earth’s climate is warming and that human activities are the primary driver.

According to major scientific organizations worldwide—including NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—more than 99% of actively publishing climate scientists agree on this.

The reality of climate change is backed by a vast body of observational evidence:

1. Rising Global Temperatures

Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by about 2° Fahrenheit (roughly 1.1° to 1.2° Celsius) since the late 19th century. The vast majority of this warming has occurred since the mid-1970s. The ten warmest years in recorded history have all occurred within the last decade, with 2024 being recorded as the hottest year since global record-keeping began in 1850.

2. Melting Ice and Glaciers

Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are losing billions of tons of mass each year, while glaciers in almost every region of the world—including the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, and Rockies—are rapidly retreating. Additionally, Arctic sea ice has declined sharply in both extent and thickness over the last several decades.

3. Rising Sea Levels

Global sea levels have risen by about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. This rate of rise has nearly doubled in recent decades, driven by two main factors: water melting from glaciers and ice sheets, and the thermal expansion of seawater as it warms.

4. Ocean Warming and Acidification

The Earth's oceans absorb more than 90% of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere, causing ocean temperatures to rise to record levels. Additionally, because the oceans absorb about 30% of the carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) emitted into the atmosphere, they are becoming increasingly acidic, which threatens coral reefs and marine life.

5. Increased Extreme Weather Events

Around the world, we are seeing a clear increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. This includes more severe heatwaves, prolonged droughts, more intense wildfires, and heavier, more destructive rainfall and hurricanes.

What Is Causing It?

While Earth’s climate has gone through natural cycles of warming and cooling over millions of years (often due to tiny shifts in the Earth's orbit), the current warming trend is different. It is happening at a rate roughly 10 times faster than the average rate of warming after a typical ice age.

This rapid warming is driven by the greenhouse effect. When humans burn fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, clear forests for agriculture, and run industrial processes, we release massive amounts of greenhouse gases—principally carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and methane—into the atmosphere. These gases act like a blanket around the Earth, trapping heat that would otherwise escape into space.

Before the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric $CO_2$ levels had not surpassed 300 parts per million (ppm) for hundreds of thousands of years. Today, due to human activity, those levels have climbed to over 420 ppm.

The evidence of climate change is not based on computer models alone; it is measured directly by satellites, weather balloons, ocean buoys, ice core samples, tree rings, and coral reefs.