What Is Climate Change?

Climate Change Causes and Effects

Climate change is rapidly altering our world in profound ways. Human activity has already increased the earth’s temperature by about 2°F since 1880. As the planet continues to get hotter, through a process known as global warming, the dangers intensify. Millions of people could be displaced and vital infrastructure could be destroyed. Climate change’s effects are far-reaching and varied and touch virtually every aspect of life on the earth: extreme heat events, rising sea levels, deeper droughts, desertification, bigger wildfires, and more intense storms.

Because climate change poses such an extraordinary threat to the planet, it needs to be addressed. There are no clear-cut answers to this global challenge, but it is not insurmountable. Countries are already taking steps to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects. Blueprints exist, but they need to be used more widely and more effectively, because the longer action is delayed, the worse climate change becomes—and the more difficult it will be to endure.