Climate Change Current Trends

The current amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.

The maximum amount of warming the Earth's surface should experience to minimize climate change damage.

Estimated range of future global temperature increase based on current trends.

Current atmospheric CO2 concentration is higher than any time in the past 14 million years.

Growing frequency and intensity of heavy rain events over the past 3 decades.

The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of the excess heat created by increasing CO2 in the atmosphere.

The speed of environmental change is faster than ever previously measured.

Warmer temperatures have led to increased evaporation and decreased soil moisture, creating more dry conditions for fire.

If more CO2 flows into the atmosphere from fossil fuels than flows out, the atmosphere acts as a "source" for CO2.

The ocean has absorbed the majority of excess heat from fossil fuels and land-use changes.

The natural greenhouse effect is essential for life, but human activities have enhanced it (global warming).

A process where an initial change is reduced by a subsequent reaction.

Earth's rotation causes a deflection in the path of an object, and warming can change the jet stream's trajectory.

The tropics are where atmospheric circulation begins due to the strongest solar heating and resulting temperature differences.

Processes like the latent heat of evaporation and condensation create differences in air pressure, causing air masses to move and drive circulation.

A high-altitude current of air that moves west-to-east in the mid-latitudes, carrying weather patterns.

Arctic warming reduces the temperature difference between the poles and the tropics, causing the jet stream to weaken.

Oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere are not effective greenhouse gases because they do not absorb heat energy.

Marine deserts are parts of the ocean with low amounts of phytoplankton due to weak surface currents and evaporation.

Ice melt reduces the temperature difference between the poles and the equator, affecting the ocean's deep-water circulation.

A linked ocean-atmosphere system that creates short-term climate variability in the Pacific Ocean, especially along the western Americas.

The transfer of carbon through Earth's systems regulates atmospheric gases and supports life.

Increased CO2 in the atmosphere signifies that the carbon cycle is out of balance, due to human use of fossil fuels.

Silicate weathering is Earth's primary long-term mechanism for reducing atmospheric CO2.

The Earth has predominantly experienced a greenhouse climate state over the long term.

Slow ocean circulation in past greenhouse periods enabled large-scale burial of organic matter, creating fossil fuels.

The past Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) provides insights into the potential outcomes of rapid CO2 increases.

Peak emissions happened around 2020, based on fossil fuel usage, but are predicted to change.

Exceeding 2°C of warming from pre-industrial levels might trigger additional climate change impacts.

A speedy shift from fossil fuels to green energy is necessary to minimize climate change impacts.

Technologies that aim to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Coal burning produces significantly more CO2 per unit of energy output compared to other fuels.

Processes which enhance the natural absorption of CO2 by weathering rocks, often by artificial means.

Ice core records show that present-day CO2 concentrations and associated warming are unprecedented in the past million years.

The growth of urban areas over the last six millennia has occurred in periods when the climate was fairly stable.

California's water supply is impacted by warming, specifically through changes in precipitation patterns and snow pack.

Strategies like recharging groundwater aquifers and building dams are being employed to address potential water shortages due to climate change.

Manipulating clouds or injection of sulfates in the atmosphere, can face limitations in effectiveness and environmental impacts.