Photograph © Ros Smith
Climate change can be caused by natural events such as a volcanic eruption or human activity such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
The Earth’s climate has changed many times over thousands of years. However, over the last 50 years we – humans – have caused the planet to warm much more quickly by our everyday activities releasing too much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
We are seeing changes to how heat is moved around the world by the oceans and air and rising sea levels.
If we continue to add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at this rate, it is thought that temperatures will continue to increase by between 1.4 and 5.8°C during this century!
Some of the arguments against climate change are:
- The rise in the earth’s temperature is temporary – it has always gone up and down.
- Ice and snow melt, rising sea levels and more severe weather such as tornadoes and hurricanes have got worse then better. There is no set trend.
- Climate change has always happened – including long before humans made greenhouse gases.

What do you think?
Why not look around this website and in other places and decide for yourself?
Tricky words?
NASA continue to monitor global climate change.
Global temperatures are continuing to climb: 2017 was the second hottest year since 1880, when global estimates first became feasible. Seventeen of the 18 warmest years in the modern record have now occurred since 2001, including 2016, which remains the warmest year since 1880.
The impacts of this long-term warming trend include a dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice in the past 20 years and rising sea levels as oceans warm and glaciers and ice sheets melt.
Do you know the difference between ‘climate’ and ‘weather’ or between ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’?
Write down your answer, then click on our friendly seal pup to to check you’re right in the Jargon Buster!
We'd love to hear from you...
Wicked Weather Watch is registered charity No. 1133006
All enquires: info@wickedweatherwatch.org.uk | Tel: 07811 265156
All content © Wicked Weather Watch or attributed photographer
