Global warming: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 9, 2026

News •

What is the Paris climate agreement and why does 1.5C matter? • Nov. 6, 2026, 11:39 AM ET (BBC)

Did You Know?

For the last twenty years, sea levels rose at twice their rate during the last century.
Global temperatures could increase by as much as 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.
Surface ocean waters today are roughly 30 percent more acidic than at the start of the Industrial Revolution.
In the last decade, the rate of Antarctica's ice mass depletion has tripled.
Scientists predict that the Arctic Ocean will barely have ice before 2050.

Photos and Videos

Grinnell Glacier shrinkage

Diagram illustrating the greenhouse effect, showing sunlight reaching Earth, some visible light absorbed by the surface, some reflected, and infrared radiation absorbed and reradiated by the atmosphere.

Bar chart comparing global mean radiative forcings from various sources since 1750, including natural and anthropogenic factors such as greenhouse gases, aerosols, and land use, with color-coded bars showing positive and negative forcing values, uncertainty ranges, and scientific understanding levels.

Petroleum refinery at Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, with tall stacks and a large gas flare burning bright orange and emitting black smoke against a clear sky.

Large white cylindrical tanks with attached yellow and blue pipes at a gas-compressor station in Siberia, set outdoors under a partly cloudy sky.

Three coal power plant smokestacks emit thick white plumes of pollution into the air, illustrating carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use.

Diagram of the surface hydrologic cycle showing water movement between oceans, atmosphere, land, lakes, rivers, ice, and groundwater, with arrows indicating evaporation, precipitation, vapor transport, and runoff. Volumes and fluxes are labeled in millions of cubic kilometers.

Illustrated diagram of the carbon cycle showing how carbon moves as carbon dioxide through the atmosphere, water, living organisms, rocks, and soil. It depicts processes like photosynthesis, respiration, sedimentation, volcanic activity, fossil fuel use, and carbon sequestration, with arrows indicating the flow between air, water, plants, animals, rocks, and industrial sources.

Charred tree trunks and smoldering ash cover a deforested area of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, with smoke rising among sparse remaining trees.

Line graph showing the Keeling Curve, which tracks atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels at Mauna Loa from 1965 to 2025. The graph shows a steady upward trend from about 320 to over 420 parts per million, with seasonal fluctuations. An inset highlights the annual cycle of CO2, demonstrating both the short-term oscillations and the long-term increase.

Close-up of pink cherry blossoms blooming on a tree branch against a blue sky with clouds, illustrating early spring caused by climate change.

Understand the carbon and oxygen cycles in the atmosphere

A colorful world map shows swirling clouds of aerosols in green, purple, and red, with arrows pointing to different regions and a note reading: What are aerosols?

What Is Cloud Seeding?

The impact of human activities on climate change

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Topics

anthropogenic climate change ocean warming What’s the Difference Between Global Warming and Climate Change?What Happens to Earth If the Amazon Rainforest Is Completely Burned?air temperature global cooling deglaciation environmental change Climate change Global warming policy Dansgaard-Oeschger event ice age The Perils of an Early Spring Is Climate Change Real?A Recent History of Climate Change Season Snowball Earth hypothesis Timeline of Climate Change Slushball Earth hypothesis

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Key People

Al Gore speaks at a podium with two microphones, gesturing with his right hand, in front of a blue backdrop with a partial white emblem.

Al Gore

vice president of United States

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Klaus Hasselmann

German oceanographer

Flannery, Tim

Tim Flannery

Australian zoologist

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Roger Angel

American astronomer

Combination shot of Grinnell Glacier taken from the summit of Mount Gould, Glacier National Park, Montana in the years 1938, 1981, 1998 and 2006.

Pop Quiz: 18 Things to Know About Global Warming

rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops

April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs