Climate Change Evidence
Evidence for climate change includes rising global temperatures, melting ice, rising sea levels and higher carbon dioxide levels.
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Evidence for climate change includes rising global temperatures, melting ice, rising sea levels and higher carbon dioxide levels.
- Ice cores record past climate
- Sea level has risen by about 20 cm since 1900
- Each recent decade has been warmer
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Climate Change Evidence?
Within Earth & Environmental Science, which covers our planet, its resources and ecosystems, and how people can protect the environment, this topic explains Climate Change Evidence. Earth and environment topics show how the planet’s systems shape landscapes, climate and life, with models that make these processes visible.
Check that you can explain Climate Change Evidence in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Climate Change Evidence helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
Climate Change Evidence in detail
Many lines of evidence show that Earth is warming. Direct measurements show global temperatures have risen about 1.1 °C since the late 19th century. Other evidence includes shrinking glaciers and ice sheets, Arctic sea ice decline, rising sea levels, warming oceans and earlier springs.
Ice cores contain bubbles of ancient air and show carbon dioxide levels over 800,000 years, with current levels higher than at any time in that record. Tree rings, sediment, corals and satellite data add to the picture. The consistency of evidence from independent sources gives scientists high confidence that human activity is the main cause of recent warming.
How the interactive helps you understand Climate Change Evidence
Watch the growth curve in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the growth curve responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Climate Change Evidence.
Real-life uses and examples
- Explain how Climate Change Evidence affects the landscape or climate near you.
- Link Climate Change Evidence to a real environmental problem and a possible solution.
- Use a diagram of Climate Change Evidence to describe the steps of a process in order.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Describing a process without the timescale it works over.
- Presenting one cause as the only cause of an environmental change.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Climate Change Evidence
What is Climate Change Evidence?
Evidence for climate change includes rising global temperatures, melting ice, rising sea levels and higher carbon dioxide levels.
What are the most important points about Climate Change Evidence?
The main points are: Ice cores record past climate; Sea level has risen by about 20 cm since 1900; Each recent decade has been warmer.
Why is Climate Change Evidence useful?
Understanding Climate Change Evidence helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
How can I practise Climate Change Evidence?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Climate Change Evidence?
Related topics in Earth & Environmental Science include Impacts of Climate Change, Oceans and Marine Ecosystems, Water Pollution.