Climate change is happening. Here’s what NASA, EPA, others have reported.

Earth’s climate has changed throughout history; the current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years, experts say.

Information gathered by scientists from sources such as ice cores, rocks, and tree rings shows signs of a changing climate, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. From global temperature rise to melting ice sheets, the evidence of a warming planet is clear.

Climate change fast facts according to NASA

• Global temperature is rising.
• The ocean is getting warmer.
• Ice sheets are shrinking.
• Glaciers are retreating.
• Snow cover is decreasing.
• The sea level is rising.
• Arctic sea ice is declining.
• Extreme events are increasing in frequency.
• Ocean acidification is increasing. 

What do the numbers say?

The Earth’s average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, due to increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities, according to NASA. Most of the warming occurred in the past 40 years. The last seven years have been the warmest on record, with 2016 and 2020 tied for the warmest year.

Increase in extreme events

Climate scientists are confident that climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather or weather-related events, according to experts with SciLine:

• Heat waves
• Drought
• Heavy rains
• Tropical storms
• Hurricanes
• Typhoons
• Wildfires

SciLine is an editorially independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit service for journalists and scientists.

Wildfires are considered “weather-related,” since they’re not meteorological events themselves but are linked to weather extremes such as drought and lightning storms. 

Extreme weather events like life-threatening heat waves and record-breaking rainfall are part of the natural climate system, but some extreme weather events have become more common in recent decades, experts say. Advancements in technology are allowing researchers to determine the extent to which climate change contributed to some extreme weather events.

Climate change impacts in Georgia, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, include:

• Changing the climate will have both harmful and beneficial effects on farming.
• Sea level is rising more rapidly in Georgia than along most coasts because the land is sinking.
• Tropical storms and hurricanes have become more intense during the past 20 years.
• Climate change is likely to increase the severity of both inland flooding and droughts.
• For the vulnerable population, including children, the elderly, the sick, and the poor, extreme heat can cause heat stroke, dehydration, and affect people’s cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Events made more severe due to climate change, according to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, include:

• Extreme rainfall in Hurricane Dorian (2019)
• November cold outbreak in the eastern United States (2019)
• The total rainfall during mid-Atlantic warm-season flooding (2018)
• A heat wave in the Four Corners region of the United States (2018)
• A summer drought in the U.S northern Great Plains (2017)
• Tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific Ocean (2015)
• High-tide floods in the Southeast (2015)
• Record-breaking fires in California (2014)
• Warm temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific during El Niño disrupted coral reefs and seabird populations (2016)

Information gathered by scientists suggests that as human-caused global warming increases greater land area will be affected by droughts. Droughts will happen more often and be more intense. Summer conditions will be drier in much of the United States.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Partners.

Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@gannett.com or on X: @EricaVanBuren32.