Introduction to Climate Change
- The term climate refers to the weather conditions in a region over a long period of time i.e. several decades
- When the weather conditions in a region change significantly over a long period of time, this is climate change
- Changes to the climate have occurred frequently throughout Earth's history due to changes in factors such as atmospheric gas concentrations and volcanic activity, but climate changes that have occurred since the mid-1800s are thought to be the result of human activities
- The term climate change is most often used today to refer to global warming that is occurring as a result of human activities
- Changes to global climate patterns result in alterations to local weather patterns e.g. rainfall and temperatures
The increase in average global temperature since the mid-1800s is thought to be the result of human activities
