Climate Change

It's real. It's happening. It's accelerating. And it's our fault. Human activity — particularly the production of greenhouse gasses from fossil fuel emissions — is reshaping our planet, effecting rapid environmental change at a rate never seen before. 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 more commonplace. Here's where you'll find the latest on the effects of climate change, and the measures that scientists, world leaders and innovators are taking to reduce our harmful impact on the planet and mitigate the damage already done.

Related Topics: Extinction, Global Warming, Deforestation, Heat Wave, Hurricanes

Latest Updates

Not a drop of moisture can be seen near this fallow crop field in Fresno County, in San Joachin Valley, California.

Civilization-Collapsing Megadroughts of Medieval Times Could Be in Store for a Warming Earth

By Charles Q. Choi published

From the 800s to the 1400s, about a dozen megadroughts struck the American Southwest, and all lasted longer than a decade.

A woman sat in the Trocadero Fountain near the Eiffel Tower in Paris as temperatures in the city reached a record 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celcius) on June 28.

Today's Climate Change Is Worse Than Anything Earth Has Experienced in the Past 2,000 Years

By Rafi Letzter published

The global climate is changing more now than at any point in the plast 2,000 years. The Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period were nothing like this.

Arctic Fires

So Much of the Arctic Is on Fire, You Can See It From Space

By Laura Geggel published

Wildfires burning large swaths of Russia are generating so much smoke, they're visible from space, new images from NASA's Earth Observatory reveal.

The First Glacier Killed by Climate Change Is Getting a Haunting Memorial in Iceland

By Brandon Specktor published

"We know what's happening and what needs to be done," the haunting letter to the future reads. "Only you know if we did it."

Massive Snow Cannons Could Save West Antarctica's Ice Sheet

By Mindy Weisberger published

Tons of snow made from seawater could stabilize failing ice.

People cooling down by the Eiffel Tower.

Last Month Was the Hottest June on Earth Ever Recorded

By Kimberly Hickok published

Do you feel hot? Because it's been really, really hot.

We Finally Know Why Florida's Coral Reefs Are Dying, and It's Not Just Climate Change

By Rafi Letzter published

Hot water is killing Florida's coral reefs. But it's not the only factor bleaching them white.

Joshua Trees Will Be All-But-Extinct by 2070 Without Climate Action, Study Warns

By Brandon Specktor published

More than 80% of California's iconic Joshua trees are likely to die at the hands of drought and fire over the next 50 years — but there's still time to save them from extinction.

Greenland’s Superfast ‘Ice Slides’ Could Be Bad News for Climate Change

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

Greenland's ice sheet is sliding way more than previously thought, making it more vulnerable to a warming climate, according to a new study.

man in a bought on dry cracked ground

Has the Earth Ever Been This Hot Before?

By Isobel Whitcomb published

Was the planet ever as hot as it is today, when every month the globe seems to be breaking one high-temperature record after another?

A NASA photo shows James Reilly, now the Trump-appointed director of the U.S. Geological Survey, aboard the space shuttle Atlantis in 2001. Reilly promised not to let political influences jeapordize science during his confirmation hearing in 2018.

It Sure Seems Like the Trump Administration Is Suppressing Reports of Climate Change at USGS

By Rafi Letzter published

Trump administration officials are removing references to climate change from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) press releases, according to a ClimateWire report.

Child with tree

Want to Fight Climate Change? Plant 1 Trillion Trees.

By Laura Geggel published

Want to help save the world from climate change? Then grab some seeds, or some seedlings, and start planting trees like there's no tomorrow.

Lifeguard Luke Orot at Jewel Lake on July 4, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, which is bracing for record-warm temperatures.

Whoa! Alaska Is Hotter Than NYC. Here's Why.

By Jeanna Bryner published

For the first time in recorded history, Anchorage, Alaska, reached 90 degrees F (32 degrees Celsius).

still shot of character amabella Klein on big little lies.

The Barrage of Bad News About Climate Change Is Triggering 'Eco-Anxiety,' Psychologists Say

By Isobel Whitcomb published

We're all Amabella.

Baby with banana

Are Bananas Doomed?

By Emma Bryce published

Could our most beloved fruit go extinct?

Looming 'Climate Apartheid' Could Split the World into the Rich and the Dead, UN Warns

By Brandon Specktor published

Human rights might not survive the climate crisis, a special United Nations report warns.

frozen bubbles of methane lake baikal

Massive Blobs of 'Fire Ice' Lurks Beneath the Ocean. We Know Almost Nothing About Them.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

There's a huge cache of flammable ice under the ocean's surface, and it plays a key role in climate change. Scientists are only now beginning to understand what it looks like.

A June 13 photo shows sled dogs wading through water on an expedition that was forced to turn around due to anomalous early ice melt.

Greenland's Summer Melts Have Started Early, and They're Very Bad This Year

By Rafi Letzter published

Summer doesn't begin for two more days, but oceanographers and climatologists are already sounding the alarm about stunning ice melts going on now in Greenland.

Beach sunset at Cape May, Delaware Bay.

'Flesh-Eating' Bacteria May Be Spreading to Beaches Once Thought Off-Limits. Here's Why.

By Rachael Rettner published

"Flesh-eating" bacteria that live in the ocean may be spreading to previously unaffected beach waters thanks to climate change, according to a new report.

A boy quenches his thirst at a water tap during a scorching heat wave, on May 15, 2017, in New Delhi, India.

Most of the World to Face Record-High Temperatures Every Year Without Serious Climate Action

By Brandon Specktor published

About 60% of the world will face record-high temperatures every year for the next 100 years if we don't tackle climate change now, a new study suggests.