Climate Change
Long-term shifts in climate patterns, including recent warming driven mainly by human activity.
Climate change is a long-term shift in average climate conditions and patterns of variability. Current global warming is primarily driven by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Climate impacts and risks differ by region and community because exposure, vulnerability, ecosystems, infrastructure, and capacity to adapt differ.
Mitigation reduces the causes of future warming, for example by lowering emissions or strengthening carbon sinks. Adaptation reduces harm from climate impacts, for example through heat plans, flood preparation, resilient infrastructure, or ecosystem restoration. The two approaches complement each other; adaptation has limits, and reducing emissions changes the scale of future risks.
Climate assessments combine observations, physical understanding, models, and multiple scenarios. Projections are conditional estimates, not exact local forecasts; communicate the scenario and time horizon when using them. Risks are unevenly distributed, so planning should include affected communities and account for historical responsibility, resources, health, and livelihoods.
Take this topic further
Turn “Climate Change” into a learning path
The Learning Studio will use this page’s overview and key ideas to shape a guided lesson, practice questions, and a small project around what you want to understand.
Related GiveGigs pages and features
Explore connected GiveGigs pages and tools for context and next steps.