Debate Prompts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the present-day human-induced rise in global temperatures. For natural historical climate trends, see Climate variability and change. "Global warming" redirects here. For other uses, see Climate change (disambiguation) and Global warming (disambiguation). The global map shows sea temperature rises of 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius; land temperature rises of 1 to 2 degrees Celsius; and Arctic temperature rises of up to 4 degrees Celsius. Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years.[1] The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures. Timeseries of global warming from 1880 to 2020 compared to simulated temperatures given only natural forcing. The first shows a positive trend since around 1950 and the second stays relatively flat. Earth's average surface air temperature has increased almost 1.5 °C (about 2.5 °F) since the Industrial Revolution. Natural forces cause some variability, but the 20-year average shows the progressive influence of human activity.[2] 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 includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution.[3][4] Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases.[5] These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.[6]