Climate change or weather?
Climate change is a wide-scale change in average weather over at least 30 years whereas weather is what can be observed day-to-day.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, have an important effect on the Earth's temperature, trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing global temperatures to rise, in what is called the greenhouse effect.
The natural greenhouse effect makes life on Earth possible. It is the excess of greenhouse gases that is a concern.
Scientists on the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say the planet is warming at a faster pace than at any other time in recorded history. These scientists agree that it's very likely human activities are to blame for most of the warming in the past 250 years. Each year, human activities are estimated to add 7.2 billion tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere or 26.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The impact of climate change takes place over many years, but we are seeing the impact of higher global temperatures now. As temperatures continue to increase in the coming years, we will see more heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising sea levels.
Alberta is renewing its climate change plan for continued reduction and management of emissions and to prepare to adapt to changes in climate.
