climate change

noun

: significant and long-lasting change in the Earth's climate and weather patterns

The half-tonne … turtles were thought to have died out 30,000 to 40,000 years ago because of climate change.

—New Scientist

especially, in current use : such change associated with global warming

Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change are renewed among scientists and the public with every new report about the possibility of melting icecaps and rising temperatures.

—Randy Showstack

Drought is a paleontological fact in the American West, but the latest desiccations have a new signature, and my region's climatologists, hydrologists, foresters, and water managers are nearly unanimous in their conviction that what we are seeing now is climate change, the anthropogenic kind, a consequence of too much CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

—Kenneth Brower

Examples of climate change in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2024

The Arctic is a major sphere of national security as the U.S. is looking to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in a region that is opening up more as climate change melts ice and creates new pathways. —Brad Dress, The Hill, 24 Dec. 2024

Musk’s donation partly funds the $100 million carbon removal competition, which is designed to honor innovative climate change solutions that help restore optimal carbon levels. —Julie Goldenberg, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024

Ski slopes and climate change Solitude Mountain Resort was just getting open, with a handful of trails groomed and lifts spinning in early December. —Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

climate change

noun

: significant and long-lasting change in the earth's climate and weather patterns

especially : such change associated with global warming