What is a good definition of climate change?
Climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. Climate change could refer to a particular location or the planet as a whole. There, these gases trap heat from the sun’s rays inside the atmosphere causing Earth’s average temperature to rise.
What is climate change doing to the US?
Across the United States, communities are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Rising seas, increased droughts, more intense heatwaves and wildfires, and stronger storms threaten American cities and towns and their economies. And without climate action, they will only get worse.
How does climate change affect our lives?
Climate change is already impacting human health. Changes in weather and climate patterns can put lives at risk. Dry conditions lead to more wildfires, which bring many health risks. Higher incidences of flooding can lead to the spread of waterborne diseases, injuries, and chemical hazards.
What are negative effects of climate change?
More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities. As climate change worsens, dangerous weather events are becoming more frequent or severe.
How does climate change affect the US economy?
Economic Impact Overall, climate change will harm the U.S. economy, even with modest amounts of warming. The U.S. economy would stand to lose between about 1 percent to 4 percent of GDP annually by the end of the century through effects to mortality, labor and the energy sector alone under a high emissions scenario.
What is climate change Short answer?
The Short Answer: Climate change describes a change in the average conditions — such as temperature and rainfall — in a region over a long period of time. NASA scientists have observed Earth’s surface is warming, and many of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years.
What is the importance of climate change?
It’s important that we understand how the climate is changing, so that we can prepare for the future. Studying the climate helps us predict how much rain the next winter might bring, or how far sea levels will rise due to warmer sea temperatures.