CLIMATE CHANGE
What is the difference between climate change and global warming?
CLIMATE CHANGEClimate change refers to a broad range of global phenomena created mainly by burning fossil fuel, which add heat-trapping gases to Earth's atmosphere. These phenomena include:
1) increased temperature trends (global warming) 2) sea level rise 3) ice mass loss in Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic and mountain glaciers worldwide 4) shifts in flower/plant blooming 5) extreme weather events Climate, on the other hand, refers to the long-term regional or even global average of temperature, humidity and rainfall patterns over seasons, years or decades.
Climate is global and long-term. |
GLOBAL WARMINGGlobal warming refers to the upward temperature trend across the entire Earth since the early 20th century, and most notably since the late 1970s, due to the increase in fossil fuel emissions since the industrial revolution.
World wide since 1880, the average surface temperature has gone up about 0.8 degrees Celsius, relative to the min-20th-century baseline (of 1951-1980) Weather refers to atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—from minutes to hours or days. Familiar examples include rain, snow, clouds, winds, floods or thunderstorms.
Weather is local and short-term. |
Climate Time Machine Activity
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Images of Change
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Global Ice Viewer
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