10 key signs of climate change

The document outlines twelve key signs of climate change, including rising global, ocean, and soil temperatures, increasing ocean acidity, and rising sea levels. It attributes these phenomena to the buildup of heat-trapping gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of tropical forests. The text highlights specific regional impacts, such as the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine and the thawing of permafrost in the Arctic, and notes the resulting increase in extreme weather events and shifts in species ranges.

• Global average temperatures have risen by approximately 1.1°C (1.98°F) since 1901, with the rate of warming increasing every decade since the 1950s.
• Oceanic changes include a nearly 30% increase in surface acidity over the last 200 years and significant warming, with the Gulf of Maine warming 99 times faster than the global ocean average.
• Cryospheric decline is evident in the shrinking of glaciers—losing over 200 billion tons of ice annually—and a near-linear decline in Arctic sea ice extent over the last 44 years.
• Global average sea levels are rising at an accelerating pace, increasing from 0.05 inches per year (1901-1971) to approximately 0.15 inches per year since 2006.
• Climate change is intensifying extreme weather and ecological shifts, including a doubling of the area burned by forest fires in western North America since the mid-1980s and range shifts toward poles or higher elevations for roughly half of assessed species.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2017). 10 key signs of climate change. https://www.ucs.org/resources/ten-signs-global-warming

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. 10 key signs of climate change. 2017. https://www.ucs.org/resources/ten-signs-global-warming.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=10 key signs of climate change |date=4 April 2017 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/ten-signs-global-warming |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2017key, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{10 key signs of climate change}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/ten-signs-global-warming}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }