🌡️ Global Temperature Anomaly (1880-2024)
🏭 Atmospheric CO₂ (Keeling Curve)
🌊 Sea Level Rise (1993-2024)
🧊 Arctic Sea Ice Extent
📊 Evidence of Climate Change
Ice Core Records
800,000 years of dataAir bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice reveal past CO₂ levels. Current 423 ppm is 50% higher than any point in 800,000 years.
Glacier Retreat
Visible proof worldwideGlaciers shrinking on every continent. Some have lost 50%+ of mass since 1900. Glacier National Park had 150 glaciers in 1850; now has 25.
Rate of Loss
- Alps: -50% since 1850
- Himalaya: 1.5m/year thinning
- Kilimanjaro: 85% gone since 1912
Ocean Heat Content
90% of warming goes hereOceans absorb 90%+ of excess heat. Top 2000m has warmed significantly. This drives sea level rise (thermal expansion), intensifies hurricanes.
Extreme Weather
Increasing frequency- Heat waves: 5x more likely than 1900
- Heavy precipitation: +7%/°C warming
- Cat 4-5 hurricanes: +25% since 1980
- Wildfire season: 78 days longer (US West)
Seasonal Shifts
Spring comes earlier- Spring: 2-3 days earlier per decade
- Cherry blossoms: 10 days earlier (Japan)
- Bird migration: 2 days earlier/decade
- Growing season: 2 weeks longer since 1900
Ocean Acidification
"Climate change's evil twin"CO₂ dissolves in seawater, forming carbonic acid. Ocean pH has dropped 0.1 (30% more acidic) since 1800.
🏭 What's Causing It?
Greenhouse Gas Sources
Attribution Science
Scientists can distinguish natural vs human-caused warming using "fingerprints" - patterns unique to different causes.
Key Evidence
- Stratosphere cooling while surface warms
- Nights warming faster than days
- Winter warming faster than summer
- Carbon isotope signature matches fossil fuels