Climate change is real and it's getting worse. Global temperature averages are creeping upward, seas are warming, rising and becoming more acidic, and extreme weather events such as droughts, wildfires, floods and powerful storms are becoming more common. The threat is so great that humanity must act now to defuse what United Nations scientists call a "climate time bomb" which, if ignored, will yield "untold suffering."
At Live Science, our expert writers and editors cover the impact of global warming, and the measures that scientists, world leaders and innovators are taking to reduce our harmful impact on the planet, with the latest climate change news, features and articles.
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Latest about Climate change
Climate wars are approaching — and they will redefine global conflict
Opinion Climate change's profound reshaping of conflict dynamics is already underway. The question facing humanity now is not whether we will confront these pressures, but how we will choose to do so.
Ghost forests are growing as sea levels rise
As trees choked by saltwater die along low-lying coasts, marshes may move in — for better or worse, scientists are learning
A long-lost ice sheet could predict the future of New York City — one in which Lower Manhattan and Coney Island are 'perpetually submerged'
Scientists are rethinking what we knew about a vanished ice sheet — and that could spell trouble for New York City.
The North Pole could shift 90 feet west by 2100
As climate change melts ice sheets and glaciers, water is being redistributed across the globe — and could end up moving the point of Earth's axis of rotation.
Climate change: Facts about our warming planet
Discover important facts about what climate change is, what's causing it, and what we can do to stop it.
Why is this giant desert turning green? Scientists may finally know the answer.
Many deserts face worsening droughts, but India's Thar Desert has become 38% greener in the past 20 years due to increased rainfall and expanding agriculture in the region, according to a new study.
Winter sea ice cover lowest on record
The Copernicus Climate Change Service has revealed that March 2025 saw the lowest sea ice maximum extent in the 47-year history of the satellite record – the warmest March on record for Europe.
'Heat is the final boss. Heat is a different beast': The planetary peril no one will be able to avoid
"What will be new about heat deaths is the extent to which the lived environment will become physically uninhabitable for everyone, old and young, middle-aged, healthy and ill."
'We don't have a climate crisis — we are the crisis': Environmentalist Paul Hawken on why honoring life is the best thing we can do against climate change
Environmentalist and author Paul Hawken speaks to Live Science about the worldview that has led to the mindless exploitation of the planet — and how we can shift perspectives for a better future.
1st glacier declared dead from climate change seen in before and after images
Earth from space Satellite images taken more than three decades apart show the disappearance of Iceland's Okjökull, the first glacier to be officially declared dead as a result of human-caused climate change.
