This has caused global temperatures to rise by roughly 1.2☌. The volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now around 50% higher than it was before we started burning fossil fuels on a large scale during the Industrial Revolution. These gases trap the heat from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the temperature to rise.

Since the beginning of the 19 th century, this change in climate has been happening more quickly, caused by our own activities and changes in how we live.ĭuring the Industrial Revolution, which started in the early 1800s, humans began to burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas for fuel in our homes, in factories, and for transport.Īlthough burning fossil fuels produces energy, it also releases greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But what is climate change and why is it happening?Ĭlimate change is the long-term change in average weather patterns and average temperatures across the world. Over the next two weeks, leaders from across the world will gather in Glasgow to address issues related to climate change.

Your world will burn