Climate change is real and it's getting worse. Global temperature averages are creeping upward, seas are warming, rising and becoming more acidic, and extreme weather events such as droughts, wildfires, floods and powerful storms are becoming more common. The threat is so great that humanity must act now to defuse what United Nations scientists call a "climate time bomb" which, if ignored, will yield "untold suffering."
At Live Science, our expert writers and editors cover the impact of global warming, and the measures that scientists, world leaders and innovators are taking to reduce our harmful impact on the planet, with the latest climate change news, features and articles.
Discover more about climate change
—What is climate change, and how is it affecting Earth?
Latest about Climate Change
The most important and shocking climate stories of 2024
Soaring carbon emissions, an unexpected new source of global warming, and collapsing ocean currents shocked scientists in 2024. Here are our picks for this year's top climate change stories.
Watch Greenland lose 563 cubic miles of ice in under 30 seconds in disturbing new time-lapse video
Satellite imagery from NASA and the European Space Agency reveal 13 years of melt on the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Scientists say sprinkling diamond dust into the sky could offset almost all of climate change so far — but it'll cost $175 trillion
The geoengineering scheme, known as stratospheric aerosol injection, would not be cheap, but scientists say it could buy us some time until we reach net-zero carbon.
'An existential threat affecting billions': Three-quarters of Earth's land became permanently drier in last 3 decades
A car driving by a raging wildfire in Orange County, California.
A third of Earth's species could become extinct by 2100 if climate change isn't curbed
An analysis of research on most known species around the world finds climate change puts many species at risk of extinction, and the risk increases with more global warming.
'Cryptic carbon' may leak from volcanoes millions of years after eruptions end
Dissolved carbon dioxide may have bubbled up from magma far below Earth's surface, contributing to prolonged warming.
Global carbon emissions reach new record high in 2024, with no end in sight, scientists say
There is a 50% chance that global warming will consistently exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next six years, according to a new report.
Microplastics may be entering the clouds and affecting the weather, scientists say
Clouds affect Earth's weather and climate in many ways. New research suggests that the presence of microplastic particles could alter these processes.
'We are teetering on a planetary tightrope': Cut emissions in half right now to prevent climate catastrophe, UN warns
A new U.N. report has found the world will warm by twice the 1.5-degree-Celsius target adopted in the Paris Agreement by 2100 if countries fail to slash greenhouse gas emissions right now.
