Is climate change real?

Climate change is strongly supported by the evidence — I'll gather the latest scientific findings to explain.

Yes, according to the overwhelming body of scientific evidence, climate change is real and happening now.

What the science says

> There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.

NASA and other agencies reach this conclusion by collecting many different types of information about the planet with Earth-orbiting satellites and other technologies over many years, which reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), representing thousands of scientists worldwide, has used its strongest language to state this finding:

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

The authors of the IPCC's sixth assessment wrote the same:
> "It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land,"

The fact that the IPCC agreed with 195 member countries that it is unequivocal that human activity is causing climate change was described as the strongest statement the IPCC has ever made

Key evidence

1. Global temperature is rising:

•According to temperature analysis led by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by at least 1.1° Celsius (1.9° Fahrenheit) since 1880. The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 to 0.20°C per decade.

•Other assessments find average global surface temperature has increased by between 1.34°C and 1.41°C compared to pre-industrial times, and nearly all of this warming has happened since the 1970s.

•While natural variability plays some part, the preponderance of evidence indicates that human activities—particularly emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases—are mostly responsible.

There is overwhelming scientific evidence that the Earth is warming and that human activities, especially the emission of greenhouse gases, are the primary cause

Multiple lines of evidence support the scientific consensus on climate change, including:

•warming of land, oceans and troposphere

•atmospheric CO2 highest in at least 2 million years

•sea level rise of 20-25 cm since 1900, fastest in at least 3,000 years

•more severe and frequent extreme weather events

2. Scientific consensus is overwhelming:

•Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists say humans are causing climate change.

•A 2019 review of scientific papers found the consensus on the cause of climate change to be at 100%, and a 2021 study concluded that over 99% of scientific papers agree on the human cause of climate change.

•Taken together, the evidence from major scientific institutions and multiple independent studies indicates that an overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree recent climate change is primarily caused by human emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases; most commonly cited figures are ~97% among publishing climate experts, and literature-only analyses have found agreement exceeding 99%

•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 carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by human activities

In the scientific literature, there is a very strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases. No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view.

The evidence for global warming due to human influence has been recognized by the national science academies of all the major industrialized countries.

Citations (3)

1nasa.govGovernment
Climate Change - NASA Science
Backs: “Yes, according to the overwhelming body of scientific evidence, climate change is real and happening now. What the science says. There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.”
2phys.orgNews and mediaquality 0.85
Climate scientists reach 'unequivocal' consensus on human-made warming in landmark report
Backs: “"It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.". The authors of the IPCC's sixth assessment wrote the same:”
3wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Scientific consensus on climate change - Wikipedia
Backs: “sea level rise of 20-25 cm since 1900, fastest in at least 3,000 years. more severe and frequent extreme weather events. 2. Scientific consensus is overwhelming:”