Climate and Global Change

Warm near the equator and cold at the poles, our planet is able to support a variety of living things because of its diverse regional climates. The average of all these regions makes up Earth's global climate. Climate has cooled and warmed throughout Earth history for various reasons. Rapid warming like we see today is unusual in the history of our planet. The scientific consensus is that climate is warming as a result of the addition of heat-trapping greenhouse gases which are increasing dramatically in the atmosphere as a result of human activities.

Coral animals build reefs in warm, tropical seawater. However, <a href="/earth/changing_planet/ocean_temperatures_intro.html&edu=high">seawater can be too warm</a> for their liking. If waters get too warm, coral animals lose the algae that live within their little bodies, a process called coral bleaching. Without the algae, corals have less nutrition. Unless cooler temperatures return, allowing algae to return, the coral dies.<p><small><em>Credit: UNC</em></small></p>Many forms of air pollution are human-made. Industrial plants, power plants and vehicles with internal combustion engines produce <a href="/earth/climate/nitrogen_airpollution.html&edu=high">nitrogen oxides</a>, <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/vocs.html&edu=high">VOCs</a>, <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_monoxide.html&edu=high">carbon monoxide</a>, <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=high">carbon dioxide</a>, <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/sulfur_oxides.html&edu=high">sulfur dioxide</a> and <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/particulates.html&edu=high">particulates</a>. Some of these gases are <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html&edu=high">greenhouse gases</a>, meaning that they retain heat in the Earth's atmosphere, due to the Earth's <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=high">greenhouse effect</a>.<p><small><em>Image copyright UCAR</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html&edu=high">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html&edu=high">Droughts</a> accompanied by increased temperatures can lead to famine, social and political disruptions. Scientists are helping with early identification of drought that might trigger food shortages. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/withering_crops_intro.html&edu=high">Changing Planet: Withering Crops</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image taken by Tomas Castelazo, Creative Commons <a href=&quot;http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en&quot;>Attribution 3.0 Unported</a> license.</em></small></p>On November 7, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines) made landfall, with imated wind speeds of ~315 km/hr - the strongest <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/intensity.html&edu=high">tropical cyclone</a> to make landfall in recorded history. As Haiyan moved across the Philippines before reaching Vietnam and China, its <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/wind.html&edu=high">winds</a> and <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/surge.html&edu=high">storm surge</a> left devastation in its wake, leading to massive loss of life, destruction of homes, and hundreds of thousands of displaced inhabitants. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/iyw-how-to-help-typhoon-haiyan/index.html">How to Help</a><p><small><em>Image courtesy of COMS-1, SSEC, University of Wisconsin-Madison</em></small></p>Scientists at the University of Michigan have found that <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_permafrost1.html&edu=high">permafrost</a> in the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_north.html&edu=high">Arctic</a> is extremely sensitive to sunlight. Exposure to sunlight releases carbon gases trapped in the permafrost, including <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html&edu=high">climate-warming</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html&edu=high">carbon dioxide</a>, to the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html&edu=high">atmosphere</a> much faster than previously thought.<p><small><em>George Kling, The University of Michigan</em></small></p><b><i>Looking for online resources about climate and climate change for your classroom?</i></b> Windows to the Universe is a free interlinked learning ecosystem to a wealth of resources on our site and elsewhere that support you on these topics, including <a href="/teacher_resources/climate_change_course.html&edu=high">course readings</a>, <a href="/php/teacher_resources/activity.php#6">classroom activities and presentations</a>, and online interactives. Our <a href="/teacher_resources/climate.html&edu=high">Climate Change Education Resources page</a> provides links to content you can use right away in the classroom!<p><small><em> Ute Kaden/PolarTREC</em></small></p>

Explore Climate and Global Change

What Is Climate?

Climate in your place on the globe is called regional climate. It is the average weather pattern ...Read more

What Controls the Climate System?

A factor that has an affect on climate is called a “forcing.” Some forcings, like volcanic ...Read more

Climates of the Past (Paleoclimates)

Climate change has affected the Earth throughout its 4.6 billion year history. The Earth has ...Read more

Our Changing Planet

Our planet is changing rapidly. Check out videos and lesson plans for key climate change indicators ...Read more

Effects of Climate Change Today

The world's surface air temperature increased an average of 0.6° Celsius (1.1°F) during the ...Read more

Climate Change in Polar Regions

The effects of climate change are not felt with the same intensity in all parts of the world. ...Read more

El Nino and Other Climate Events

Sometimes there is a disruption in Earth’s climate system that might last a few weeks or a ...Read more

The Role of Clouds in Climate

Clouds are an important part of Earth's weather and climate. Scientists use computer models ...Read more

Energy Choices and Climate Change

The choices we make about the sources of the energy we use and the amount of energy we use affect ...Read more

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The IPCC is a group of hundreds of experts from more than 100 countries ...Read more

Tackling the Global Warming Challenge

Earth’s climate is warming quickly and human activities are mostly to blame.  By releasing ...Read more

More about Climate and Global Change

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that greenhouse gases are increasing rapidly in the Earth's atmosphere?

Did you know that the Arctic is warming?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Allotropes
xAllotropes : Forms of an element with different structures and properties when they are in the same state - solid, liquid, gas

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Gulf Oil Spill: Mississippi River Hydrology May Help Reduce Oil Onshore

The Gulf of Mexico: what role will the Mississippi River play in oil washing ashore and into delta wetlands? One of the spill's greatest environmental threats is to Louisiana's wetlands, scientists believe....Read more


Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA