Our Changing Climate

         Have you studied climate change in school?  Most of the world's scientists agree that our planet is warming.  We are already seeing changes to our climate.  Scientists expect we will notice these changes much more in the coming years.
         The newspaper reporter talked with a scientist at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to find out more about what is going on with our climate.
What is climate change?
        Climate is the average of an area's weather over a long period of time.  For example, in Alaska, the climate is much colder than in Flordia.
         Experts usually say there is climate change if there are changes lasting for at least 30 years.  We are seeing that throughout the world.
Warming and other changes
         Many scientists are now using the term "climate change" instead of  "global warming."  The temperature of the air above the Earth is rising.  But that is just one of several changes in the world's climate.
         Some of the changes include:
          * The 1980s broke all records for heat across the planet.  Then the 1990s broke the 1980s record.  The 2000s broke the 1990s record.  In the past 30 years, each decade, or 10-year period, has broken the previous heat records.
          * The Artic ice has been getting smaller and thinner each summer since 1979.  The area of summer Artic ice has decreased by about 300,000 square miles.  This is enough to cover both Texas and Kentucky.
          * Sea level has risen 6 to 8 inches over the planet in the past 100 years.
          * Precipitation, or moisture falling to Earth, has increased over much of the world in the last 100 years.  This has brought flooding to areas such as Australia.
          * Drought, or a long time with dry weather, has increased in some spots, including much of Africa.