What is climate change and why is it happening?
Our ‘climate’ is the long-term weather that our planet normally experiences.
Humans, animals, plants, and other living beings need a very specific climate in order to live.
Since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, our planet has been heating up at a much quicker rate than ever before – with damaging consequences.
We’ve been burning fossil fuels such as coal and gas to provide electricity, heating and transport, but this releases carbon dioxide, methane and other gases into the atmosphere. They hang in the air like an invisible blanket, trapping the heat from the sun and stopping it from returning to space, warming up the Earth’s surface temperature.
As a result, we’re seeing extreme weather, from floods to droughts, across the globe. It’s also causing glaciers and ice caps to melt, making sea levels rise.
While we can’t reverse the damage, we can make changes to slow things down, reduce our impact here on Earth and create a more sustainable future.
The ‘warming stripes’ show the average global temperature each year between 1850 and 2020, increasing by 1.2 degrees Celsius.
For more information, facts and prompts, download our Climate Guide.
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