Global warming" redirects here. For other uses, see Climate change (disambiguation) and Global warming (disambiguation). This article is about current climate change. For historical climate trends, see Climate variability and change.

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.

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]

In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its 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 average temperature is primarily caused by humans burning fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution.[3][4] Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices add to greenhouse gases.[5] These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth