Defining Climate Change

changes in the earth's weather, including changes in temperature, wind patterns and rainfall, especially the increase in the

temperature of the earth's atmosphere that is caused by the increase of particular gases, especially carbon dioxide.

Oxford Dictionary

Climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over

periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in the average

weather conditions or a change in the distribution of weather events with respect to an average,

for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events. Climate change may be limited to a

specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there are

7 indicators that would be expected to increase in a warming world (and they are), and 3

indicators would be expected to decrease (and they are):

But who is causing these indicators to change? Is it us?

In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers

to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change or

anthropogenic global warming (AGW).

10 Indicators of a Human Fingerprint on Climate Change

Science isn't a house of cards, ready to topple if you remove one line of evidence. Instead, it's like

a jigsaw puzzle. As the body of evidence builds, we get a clearer picture of what's driving our

climate. We now have many lines of evidence all pointing to a single, consistent answer - the

main driver of global warming is rising carbon dioxide levels from our fossil fuel burning.

John Cook