
As people continue adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the Earth is getting hotter and the climate is changing. We are experiencing more heat waves, droughts, wildfires and other extreme weather events. Climate change is the result of rising emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other heat-trapping gases caused by human activities. Although these gases are already at record high levels, people continue to emit them at a rapid rate.
The global average temperature is on track to rise by several degrees. While this may not seem like much, regions in the North are warming at twice the global rate. Also, climate is not the same as weather. So, the atmospheric conditions at a specific time and place influence the extreme heat. Climate is a region's expected weather over a long time.
Global warming may sound cozy, but a hotter planet is melting polar ice, raising sea levels and endangering wildlife. People are affected by withering crops, diminished water supplies and heat-related illness. Climate change is a crisis, but one that is solvable. If people work together, we can avoid the worst outcomes.