If someone asked you what the weather would be like next summer, you would probably tell them that it would be similar to the weather you had last summer. But what if that changed?
Scientists, governments and people around the world are concerned that our weather will change. Right now, gasses in the earth’s atmosphere such as carbon dioxide and methane act like the glass in a greenhouse. These gasses trap heat in order to keep temperatures on earth warm enough to support life as we know it. We call them “greenhouse gases”.
What will happen?
Climate change will affect different regions of the world in different ways. It could bring more rain and floods to one area, more droughts to another, and stronger winds and tornados to a third. In the north, higher temperatures have already begun melting arctic ice. The challenge we are facing is that these changes will be more severe and unpredictable than we have ever experienced before.
Why does it matter to me?
Every person contributes to climate change every day: by driving their cars, heating or cooling their homes, or buying products at the store. While we may be able to develop new ideas to help us overcome the changes, other resources that we or the earth depend on – such as animals, plants, birds and other living things – may not.
We need to take the responsibility to change our habits. Each person has a part to play in stopping climate change and each person’s contribution will make a difference!
The earth’s systems are constantly changing and rebalancing to maintain relatively constant conditions. However, if too many “greenhouse gases” accumulate in the atmosphere too much heat would be trapped. This excessive heat would raise average temperatures on earth, and affect weather systems. As a result, we would face more severe storms, droughts and forest fires. This type of change in the average weather in a region is called “climate change”.