- So climate change refers to long-term alterations
in the Earth's climate system.
So this can be changes in temperature
or precipitation patterns
or in the frequency or intensity of extreme weather events.
And climate change is primarily driven by our activities
as humans.
So through things like burning fossil fuels
or land use change and deforestation.
All of these things release what are called greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere.
And this includes things like carbon dioxide or methane.
And we call them greenhouse gases
because they basically act like a giant greenhouse
around the Earth.
So they trap the heat energy from the Sun
and increase the temperature that we experience on Earth,
which can have all kinds of negative impacts
for the environment and for society.