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climate change

Definition

Climate Change is a long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place, largely due to human activities like burning fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into Earth's atmosphere. These changes have significant environmental, political, and economic impacts worldwide.

Analogy

Climate change can be likened to slowly turning up the heat under a pot of water. Just as the gradually increasing heat will eventually cause the water to boil, the gradual increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere leads to global warming and other weather pattern changes over time.

Related terms

Greenhouse Gases: Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly by human activities expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.

Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, often with a focus on reducing environmental impact

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AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.