Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The modern-day rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel (coal, oil and natural gas) burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere.
Major climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the UN says the planet will warm 2.7 degrees F
Major climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the UN says the planet will warm 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) by 2040 with dire results
Historical Significance
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system.
Events Before
Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian titl
Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian title and record 23rd Grand Slam event singles victory
Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GS
Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GSA Today"
Jay-Z becomes the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Max Martin, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lew
Jay-Z becomes the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Max Martin, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis
World's oldest golf club, Muirfield in Scotland, votes to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years
World's oldest golf club, Muirfield in Scotland, votes to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years
Bob Dylan receives his Nobel Prize for Literature at a private ceremony in Stockholm
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter.
Events After
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen wins his 3rd PDC World Darts Championship; beats Englishman Michael Smith 7-3 at the Alexand
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen wins his 3rd PDC World Darts Championship; beats Englishman Michael Smith 7-3 at the Alexandra Palace in London
US grounds all Boeing 737 Max aircraft after bans by other countries following the plane type's second crash in Ethiopia
The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737.
Climate change strikes held by schoolchildren take place around the world, inspired by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg is a Swedish activist best known for pressuring governments to address climate change and social issues.
Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken, raising flags in Baghuz, Syria
Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken, raising flags in Baghuz, Syria, and ending the five-year Islamic State "caliphate"
Amazon's Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos agree record-breaking $35 billion divorce settlement
Amazon's Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos agree record-breaking $35 billion divorce settlement
More from the 2010s
New FINA rules re competition swimsuits come into effect; all body-length swimsuits banned; men's suits to maximally cov
New FINA rules re competition swimsuits come into effect; all body-length swimsuits banned; men's suits to maximally cover from the waist to knee, and women's from shoulder to knee; fabric must be a "textile" or woven material
10 people are killed, and 120 are injured in a stampede in Luanda, Angola
10 people are killed, and 120 are injured in a stampede in Luanda, Angola
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen wins his first PDC World Darts Championship, defeating Peter Wright of Scotland 7-4; it is t
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen wins his first PDC World Darts Championship, defeating Peter Wright of Scotland 7-4; it is the first time no Englishman has been in the final
Lithuania adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the Litas and becoming the 19th member of the Eurozone
Lithuania adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the Litas and becoming the 19th member of the Eurozone
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened on October 8, 2018?
- Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The modern-day rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel (coal, oil and natural gas) burning since the Industrial Revolution.
- Why is Major climate report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the... significant?
- Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system.