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

Some episodes of rapid climate change during the Phanerozoic, so shows the fossil record, coincide with mass extinctions. —David Bressan, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2024

In his four years in office, Biden cemented his legacy as the most pro-climate president after making the fight against climate change a central pillar of his administration. —Ella Nilsen, CNN, 22 Sep. 2024

Meanwhile, accidents at a climate change protest bring unique cases to the hospital, and Bailey encounters a blast from the past. —Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 22 Sep. 2024

California’s wildfires are due to climate change and a century of fire suppression leading to unchecked growth — not because Northern California isn’t sending enough water elsewhere. —Robin Epley, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 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