| This article about the global warming. | | | | conclusions, and a few individual scientists also |
| Global warming is the increase in the average | | | | disagree with parts of them. |
| temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and | | | | An increase in global temperatures can in turn |
| oceans in recent decades and its projected | | | | cause other changes, including sea level rise, and |
| continuation. | | | | changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation |
| Global average air temperature near the Earth's | | | | resulting in floods and drought. There may also be |
| surface rose 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the | | | | changes in the frequency and intensity of |
| past century. The Intergovernmental Panel on | | | | extreme weather events, though it is difficult to |
| Climate Change (IPCC) concludes, "most of the | | | | connect specific events to global warming. Other |
| observed increase in globally averaged | | | | effects may include changes in agricultural yields, |
| temperatures since the mid-20th century is very | | | | glacier retreat, reduced summer streamflows, |
| likely due to the observed increase in | | | | species extinctions and increases in the ranges of |
| anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations," | | | | disease vectors. |
| which leads to warming of the surface and lower | | | | The term "global warming" is a specific example |
| atmosphere by increasing the greenhouse effect. | | | | of the broader term climate change, which can |
| Natural phenomena such as solar variation | | | | also refer to global cooling. In common usage the |
| combined with volcanoes have probably had a | | | | term refers to recent warming and implies a |
| small warming effect from pre-industrial times to | | | | human influence. The United Nations Framework |
| 1950, but a small cooling effect since 1950. | | | | Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) uses |
| These basic conclusions have been endorsed by | | | | the term "climate change" for human-caused |
| at least 30 scientific societies and academies of | | | | change, and "climate variability" for other changes. |
| science, including all of the national academies of | | | | The term "anthropogenic climate change" is |
| science of the major industrialized countries. The | | | | sometimes used when focusing on human-induced |
| American Association of Petroleum Geologists is | | | | changes. |
| the only scientific society that rejects these | | | | |