Global warming is the long-term increase in Earth’s average surface temperature, primarily caused by human activities that increase the concentration of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, absorb and re-emit heat, slowing the rate at which energy escapes from Earth into space. Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture, and certain industrial activities contribute to the accumulation of these gases.
Global warming affects more than air temperature. It contributes to the warming of oceans, the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, rising sea levels, and changes in the frequency or intensity of some extreme weather events. It can also influence ecosystems, food production, water availability, and human health.
Global warming is a major driver of climate change, which includes broader changes in rainfall, wind patterns, seasons, and other characteristics of the climate. Natural phenomena such as El Niño can temporarily influence global average temperatures, but they do not explain the persistent long-term warming observed over recent decades.
QUICK FACT
Global warming refers specifically to the long-term rise in Earth’s average surface temperature. Climate change is broader and includes other long-term changes in the climate system.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Climate change: Includes global warming and other long-term changes in temperature, rainfall, sea level, and climate patterns.
- El Niño: A natural climate phenomenon that can temporarily raise global average temperatures.
- Temperature anomaly: The difference between an observed temperature and a reference temperature average.
SEE ALSO