Is climate change real?

I'll gather the latest scientific evidence to answer your question about climate change.

Yes — climate change is real, and that conclusion is supported by overwhelming scientific evidence and consensus.

What the science says

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

> 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

Major scientific bodies, including NASA, NOAA, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), agree on this.

The IPCC — representing 195 member countries — stated:

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

The report noted this was:

> the strongest statement that the IPCC has ever made

And:

> There is scientific consensus that climate change is real, manifested through increasing temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events

The evidence

Multiple independent lines of evidence collected over many years reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate:

1. Rising global temperatures:
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.

While natural variability plays some part:

> the preponderance of evidence indicates that human activities—particularly emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases—are mostly responsible.

2. Rising sea levels and melting ice:
> sea levels continue to rise because of human-caused climate change driven by the excess amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide that society pumps into the atmosphere.

Climate change is:

> melting Earth's ice sheets and glaciers, adding more fresh water to the ocean, while warming causes the expansion of seawater.

Data from NASA's GRACE satellites show:

> Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average rate of about 136 billion tons per year, and Greenland is losing about 267 billion tons per year, adding to sea level rise.

Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since 1880, and is projected to rise at least another foot by 2100.

3. Other indicators:
Earth-orbiting satellites and other technologies collecting many different types of information about our planet all over the world reveal consistent patterns — including warming oceans (over 90% of trapped heat goes into oceans), ocean acidification, shrinking Arctic sea ice, glacier retreat, and more frequent extreme weather events.

Scientific consensus

The agreement among scientists is extremely high:

> Studies indicate that about 97% of actively publishing climate scientists agree on the human influence on climate change.

A 2019 review found consensus at 100% and:

> a 2021 study concluded that over 99% of scientific papers agree on the human cause of climate change.

Organizations such as the IPCC, NASA, NOAA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the national science academies of major nations all endorse the consensus that recent warming is real and predominantly human-caused.

In short: Scientists continue to debate details — such as exactly how fast, where, and how severely impacts will unfold — but there is virtually no disagreement among actively publishing climate experts that the Earth is warming and human greenhouse gas emissions are the dominant cause since the mid-20th century.