The scientific community has been investigating the causes of current climate change for decades. After thousands of studies, the scientific consensus is that it is "unequivocal that human influence h
Air pollution has substantially increased the presence of aerosols in the atmosphere when compared to the preindustrial background levels. Different types of particles have different effects, but overall, cooling from aerosols formed by sulfur dioxide emissions has the overwhelming impact. However, the complexity of aerosol interactions in atmospheric layers makes the exact strength of cooling very difficult to estimate.
Human fingerprints for global warming (summary of observational evidence that human carbon dioxide emissions are causing the climate to warm).
Sea ice reflects 50% to 70% of incoming sunlight, while the ocean, being darker, reflects only 6%. As an area of sea ice melts and exposes more ocean, more heat is absorbed by the ocean, raising temperatures that melt still more ice. This is a positive feedback process.
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also inclu
Different levels of global warming may cause different parts of Earth's climate system to reach tipping points that cause transitions to different states.
Ecological collapse. Coral bleaching from thermal stress has damaged the Great Barrier Reef and threatens coral reefs worldwide.
Extreme weather. Drought and high temperatures worsened the 2020 bushfires in Australia.