Is climate change real?

Is climate change real? I'll pull the latest scientific consensus and key evidence.

Yes — according to the overwhelming scientific consensus and evidence, climate change is real and primarily caused by human activity.

What science says

•The body of peer‑reviewed science and major scientific organizations state unequivocally that recent warming is real and that human activity is the primary cause

•The question of whether climate change is real is no longer a matter of scientific debate. The overwhelming consensus among climate scientists, affirmed by leading scientific organizations worldwide, is that the Earth is warming, and human activity is the dominant cause

•NASA summarizes: There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.

•According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (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."

How strong is the consensus?

•Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97% or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.

•NASA states that 97% of actively publishing climate scientists agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change

•Scientific studies consistently show that more than 97% of climate scientists agree that global warming is happening and is largely driven by human-induced factors.

Some literature reviews find even higher agreement (>99%), while exact numbers vary with method and population sampled, but all show an overwhelming majority.

Key evidence that it is happening

NASA and other agencies point to multiple independent lines of evidence, all showing a warming planet:

•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.

•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.

Other compelling evidence compiled by NASA includes:

•Global temperature rise — most warming in past 40 years

•The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat

•Ice sheets shrinking — Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019

•Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world

•Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century, with rate nearly doubling in last two decades

•Arctic sea ice declining rapidly

•Increasing frequency of extreme events and ocean acidification

The evidence comes from direct measurements of rising surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures, plus satellites, ice cores, tree rings, ocean sediments and other paleoclimate records. Scientific information taken from natural sources (such as ice cores, rocks, and tree rings) and from modern equipment (like satellites and instruments) all show the signs of a changing climate.

In short, within the global scientific community there is a consensus, based on current evidence, that human activities are the main source of climate change and that the burning of fossil fuels is largely responsible. Public and political debate continues, but the scientific debate about whether the climate is changing and humans are the dominant cause is considered settled.

Citations (2)

1nasa.govGovernment
Climate Change - NASA Science
Backs: “NASA summarizes: There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.”
2nasa.govGovernment
Evidence - NASA Science
Backs: “NASA summarizes: There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the…”