Measurement of global average temperatures is so important
because it's one of the most direct indicators of Earth's changing climate.
But the Earth is really a system of environmental systems, land,
ocean atmosphere and ice, and changes in one system impact the others.
Our oceans are our first line of defense in climate change
because they absorb so much of the extra trapped energy in the Earth system.
We are seeing the impacts of climate change now.
Now we know that as our climate warms,
wet areas are getting wetter and dry areas are getting drier.
For example, we see more intense snowstorms.
We see slower hurricanes that are causing more precipitation that inundate land.
And we have more extreme precipitation in the form of atmospheric rivers
that come from the Pacific and reach our West Coast.
The oceans are observing a large amount of heat because of climate change.
And once that heat is in the ocean, it actually travels all around the planet
because of the ocean currents.
And that has impacts on local weather and long-term climate.
As the planet warms.
It's not just the ocean that's warming, it's also the ice
that sits in the ocean and on land.
The ice on land being warmed increases melting, which is increasing freshwater
input into the polar oceans and causing sea levels to rise across the globe.
So as the climate is changing, we really are
seeing a lot of changes to the environment up in the Arctic.
We're seeing more permafrost
thaw when it's warmer up there,
the warmer air temperature can lead to warm ground temperature
and we get that thawing of that permafrost layer.
We're finding that the fire season
is being exacerbated by longer periods of drought and decreased snowfall.
Knowing that our climate is changing due to human activities means that we know how
to lessen the effects of future warming and knowing how we know
what causes climate change confirms that our efforts would be meaningful.
The situation is serious, but it's not hopeless.
Together, we can decide to make.
A better choice.