climate change

3 synonyms for climate change, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The long-term shift in global temperatures and weather patterns driven mainly by human emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, deforestation and agriculture, producing warming, sea-level rise and more frequent extreme weather.

Synonyms

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

global warming the climate crisis global heating

How to use climate change

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

tackle climate change climate change adaptation the effects of climate change human-caused climate change

Neutral and standard in science, policy and journalism. Climate crisis and climate emergency are advocacy framings of the same subject.

Etymology

Climate is from Greek klima, a slope or region of the earth, via Latin; change is from Old French changier, from Latin cambiare 'to exchange'.

Full origin of climate change →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between climate change and global warming?

Global warming names one effect: the rise in average global temperature. Climate change is the broader term, covering that warming plus the shifts it drives — altered rainfall, stronger storms, rising seas, ocean acidification. Warming is the cause; climate change is the whole picture.

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather is what happens over hours or days in one place; climate is the pattern averaged over decades across a region. A cold week does not contradict a warming climate, in the same way one tall child does not change a school's average height.

Is climate change caused by humans?

The overwhelming scientific consensus is that the warming observed since the mid-twentieth century is predominantly caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. Natural climate change has occurred throughout Earth's history, but it does not account for the current rate or pattern of warming.

Nearby words

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