Climate Science 101

The document explains the distinction between global warming and climate change, attributing current rapid warming to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation. It details the resulting increase in extreme weather events and highlights the disproportionate burden on marginalized communities and the Global South. The guide advocates for a transition to renewable energy, increased resource efficiency, and carbon removal to mitigate future disasters.

• Global warming refers specifically to the rise in global average temperatures since the 1800s, while climate change is a broader term that includes global warming and its resulting effects, such as rising sea levels and increased frequency of extreme weather.
• Since 1900, the Earth has warmed by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.9 degrees Fahrenheit), with the last seven years as of 2022 being the hottest in recorded history.
• Current global warming is caused exclusively by human emissions of heat-trapping gases, with fossil fuel use accounting for roughly 75% of these emissions and the remainder coming from agriculture, waste decay, and deforestation.
• Climate change intensifies weather extremes, including more prolonged heatwaves, heavier precipitation leading to inland flooding, stronger droughts, larger wildfires, and more powerful tropical cyclones due to warmer oceans.
• Extreme-event attribution allows scientists to quantify the climate change contribution to specific events, such as the 2022 Pakistan floods (made up to 50% worse), Hurricane Ian in 2022 (at least 10% worse), and the 2020 Siberian Arctic heatwave (at least 600 times more likely).
• Climate change disproportionately affects Indigenous groups, communities of color, and the poor, despite the richest 10% of the world's population producing more than half of global carbon emissions.
• The World Health Organization estimates that between 2030 and 2050, unmitigated climate change could cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths annually from heat stress, malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition.

APA

Hayhoe, K. (2023). Climate Science 101. Covering Climate Now. https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/climate-science-101/

Chicago

Hayhoe, Katharine. Climate Science 101. Covering Climate Now, 2023. https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/climate-science-101/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hayhoe |first1=Katharine |title=Climate Science 101 |publisher=Covering Climate Now |date=17 January 2023 |url=https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/climate-science-101/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hayhoe2023climate, author = {Hayhoe, Katharine}, title = {{Climate Science 101}}, institution = {Covering Climate Now}, year = {2023}, month = jan, url = {https://coveringclimatenow.org/resource/climate-science-101/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }