What Is Climate Change?

by Evelyn Jakubczak, age 12

Human activities have caused the Earth to warm faster than at any other point in time in the last 2,000 years. This phenomenon is called climate change, a term describing long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns.

Climate change can be caused by natural factors such as the sun and human activities, such as the use of fossil fuels which emit greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels include coal burned in buildings and gasoline used in cars. Some problems that climate change can cause include intense fires, droughts, melting polar ice, and flooding. These problems have led to the relocation of entire communities.

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are key drivers of climate change. This is because these gases act like a blanket for the Earth, trapping heat and letting very little out. Earth’s average temperature is about 1.34 °C to 1.41 °C warmer than the early 1800s.

Climate change is a big thing that affects everyone's life, including small island nations. Most cilmate scientists agree that we need to start taking action now. The main thing is to keep Earth’s warming below 1.5 °C. The last four decades have been warmer than ever recorded, as “Changes in one area can influence changes in all others,” says the United Nations. Early warning systems can create benefits up to ten times the initial cost. Global agreements we have include the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

[Sources: Encyclopdia Britanica; United Nations]