Global Warming Facts

• Average temperatures around the world have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) since 1880, much of this in recent times, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

• The rate of climate change is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.

• Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004.

• Arctic ice is disappearing at an alarming rate. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.

• Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers. It had 150 back in 1910.

• An increase in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.

So there you have it. All the most interesting and frightening global warming facts.

To return to our solar energy home page.