What is Climate Change? | How Parks are Being Affected | What Parks are Doing
What is Climate Change?
Climate change is more than just a change in the weather; it refers to a pattern of seasonal changes over an extended period of time. These may include increasing or decreasing temperatures, more or less precipitation like rain or snow, and more frequent or severe storms and other weather events. In turn these patterns shape the ecological systems that support not only our national parks and their wildlife, but also our own communities.
The Earth's climate has changed many times during the planet's history, with events ranging from ice ages to long periods of warmth. Historically, natural factors have affected the Earth's climate, and changes have unfolded slowly.
In recent centuries the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and deforestation has caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. As the concentrations of these gases continue to rise, the Earth's temperature is climbing.
If greenhouse gases continue to increase, scientists predict that the average temperature at the Earth's surface could increase from 3.2 to 7.2ºF above 1990 levels by the end of this century, rapidly accelerating climate change. Americans are witnessing the impacts of climate change in their own backyards, including prolonged drought, increases in heavy downpours and floods, more severe winter storms, and earlier snowmelt.
Other climate change effects include rising sea levels due to the rapid melting of glaciers at the Earth’s poles, and the increasing acidification of the oceans as they absorb more carbon dioxide. Low-lying coastal communities around the world are threatened by rising seas, and more acidic oceans are already contributing to the decline of coral reefs.
