Is climate change real?

Yes, climate change is real. The scientific evidence for it is overwhelming, and there is an exceptionally strong consensus among the global scientific community.

The planet is warming at an unprecedented rate, primarily driven by human activities since the Industrial Revolution.

How Do We Know It Is Real? (The Evidence)

Scientists monitor the planet using satellites, weather stations, ocean buoys, and ancient recorders of climate like ice cores and tree rings. This data shows clear, measurable trends across several areas:

1.Rising Global Temperatures: The Earth's average surface temperature has risen by about 1.1°C (2°F) since the late 19th century. The vast majority of this warming has occurred in the last few decades, with the most recent years ranking as the warmest on record.

2.Warming and Acidifying Oceans: The oceans absorb more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, leading to rapidly rising ocean temperatures. Additionally, as the oceans absorb excess carbon dioxide (CO₂), they become more acidic, which threatens marine life like coral reefs and shellfish.

3.Shrinking Ice Sheets and Glaciers: Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are losing hundreds of billions of tons of mass per year. Glaciers and snow cover around the world—from the Alps to the Himalayas—are in rapid retreat.

4.Rising Sea Levels: Global sea levels rose about 8 inches (20 cm) in the last century, and the rate of rise has nearly doubled in recent decades. This is caused by water melting from land-based glaciers and ice sheets, as well as the physical expansion of water as it warms.

5.Extreme Weather Events: Around the globe, we are seeing a dramatic increase in both the frequency and severity of extreme weather. This includes more intense heatwaves, prolonged droughts, devastating wildfires, and heavier, more destructive rainfall and flooding.

What Is Causing It?

While Earth’s climate has gone through natural cycles of warming and cooling over millions of years (due to shifts in Earth's orbit or volcanic activity), the current period of warming is happening much faster than any natural cycle in geological history.

The primary driver is the greenhouse effect:

•When we burn fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and natural gas) for electricity, heat, and transportation, we release massive amounts of greenhouse gases—mainly carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and methane ($CH_4$)—into the atmosphere.

•These gases act like a blanket around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and preventing it from escaping back into space.

•Carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere are now higher than they have been at any point in human history.

The Scientific Consensus

More than 97% of actively publishing climate scientists—alongside the world's leading scientific organizations, including NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—agree that climate change is real and that human activities are the principal cause.

Citations (6)

1caltech.eduAcademic
caltech.edu
Backs: “Yes, climate change is real. The scientific evidence for it is overwhelming, and there is an exceptionally strong consensus among the global scientific community.”
2nasa.govGovernment
nasa.gov
Backs: “Yes, climate change is real. The scientific evidence for it is overwhelming, and there is an exceptionally strong consensus among the global scientific community.”
3nasa.govGovernment
nasa.gov
Backs: “The planet is warming at an unprecedented rate, primarily driven by human activities since the Industrial Revolution.”
4skepticalscience.comNonprofits and think tanks
skepticalscience.com
Backs: “The vast majority of this warming has occurred in the last few decades, with the most recent years ranking as the warmest on record. 2.”
5youtube.comSocial media and video
youtube.com
Backs: “Shrinking Ice Sheets and Glaciers: Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are losing hundreds of billions of tons of mass per year. Glaciers and snow cover around the world—from the Alps to the Himalayas—are in rapid retreat.”
6nasa.govGovernment
nasa.gov
Backs: “Extreme Weather Events: Around the globe, we are seeing a dramatic increase in both the frequency and severity of extreme weather. This includes more intense heatwaves, prolonged droughts, devastating wildfires, and heavier, more destructive rainfall and flooding.”