Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.

How Does Clımate Change Affect You

Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner. Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.




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The planet's long-term warming trend continues, with the global average temperature rising 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) in 2017, according to scientists at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. In 2016, the temperature was 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) higher than the late 19th century average. NASA's analyzes include surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based data of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations. These metrics are analyzed using an algorithm that considers various spacings of stations around the world and urban warming effects that may affect their results. You can find the entire 2017 surface temperature data system and the methodology used to calculate the temperature here. NASA uses aerial and ground monitoring to better understand Earth as an interconnected system, and develops long-term data logging and computer analysis tools and new ways to better see how our planet is changing.



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