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World Wildlife Federation

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To ensure a healthy future for species and places, WWF works to tackle the threats that impact the Earth.

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How does weather, climate and everything else connect together?

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Weather vs. Climate

Weather describes the conditions outside right now in a specific place. For example, if you see that it's raining outside right now, that's a way to describe today's weather. Rain, snow, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes - these are all weather events.

Climate, on the other hand, is more than just one or two rainy days. Climate describes the weather conditions that are expected in a region at a particular time of year.

Is it usually rainy or usually dry? Is it typically hot or typically cold? A region's climate is determined by observing its weather over a period of many years-generally 30 years or more.

So, for example, one or two weeks of rainy weather wouldn't change the fact that Phoenix typically has a dry, desert climate. Even though it's rainy right now, we still expect Phoenix to be dry because that's what is usually the case.
Want to know more about the difference between weather and climate? Take a look at this video!
What Is Climate Change?

Climate change describes a change in the average conditions - such as temperature and rainfall - in a region over a long period of time. For example, 20,000 years ago, much of the United States was covered in glaciers. In the United States today, we have a warmer climate and fewer glaciers.

Global climate change refers to the average long-term changes over the entire Earth. These include warming temperatures and changes in precipitation, as well as the effects of Earth's warming, such as:

Rising sea levels

Shrinking mountain glaciers

Ice melting at a faster rate than usual in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic

Changes in flower and plant blooming times.

Earth's climate has constantly been changing - even long before humans came into the picture. However, scientists have observed unusual changes recently. For example, Earth's average temperature has been increasing much more quickly than they would expect over the past 150 years.
Want to know more about how we know climate change is happening? Check it all out here!
How Much Is Earth's Climate Changing Right Now?

Some parts of Earth are warming faster than others. But on average, global air temperatures near Earth's surface have gone up about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years. In fact, the past five years have been the warmest five years in centuries.

Many people, including scientists, are concerned about this warming. As Earth's climate continues to warm, the intensity and amount of rainfall during storms such as hurricanes is expected to increase. Droughts and heat waves are also expected to become more intense as the climate warms.

When the whole Earth's temperature changes by one or two degrees, that change can have big impacts on the health of Earth's plants and animals, too.

What Causes Climate Change?

There are lots of factors that contribute to Earth's climate. However, scientists agree that Earth has been getting warmer in the past 50 to 100 years due to human activities.

Certain gases in Earth's atmosphere block heat from escaping. This is called the greenhouse effect. These gases keep Earth warm like the glass in a greenhouse keeps plants warm.

Human activities - such as burning fuel to power factories, cars and buses - are changing the natural greenhouse. These changes cause the atmosphere to trap more heat than it used to, leading to a warmer Earth.

Does What We Do Matter?

Yes. When human activities create greenhouse gases, Earth warms. This matters because oceans, land, air, plants, animals and energy from the Sun all have an effect on one another. The combined effects of all these things give us our global climate. In other words, Earth's climate functions like one big, connected system.

Thinking about things as systems means looking for how every part relates to others. NASA's Earth observing satellites collect information about how our planet's atmosphere, water and land are changing.

By looking at this information, scientists can observe how Earth's systems work together. This will help us understand how small changes in one place can contribute to bigger changes in Earth's global climate.

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Weather describes the conditions outside right now in a specific place. For example, if you see that it's raining outside right now, that's a way to describe today's weather. Rain, snow, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes - these are all weather events. Climate, on the other hand, is more than just one or two rainy days.

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What matters? Why?

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Always grounded in sound evidence, the David Suzuki Foundation empowers people to take action in their communities on the environmental challenges we collectively face. We're One Nature.

Through evidence-based research, policy analysis, education and citizen empowerment, we conserve and protect the natural environment to create a sustainable Canada. We collaborate with non-profit and community organizations, all levels of government, businesses and individuals.

Our project work is supported by individual donors, foundation grants and corporate support. We do not solicit or accept government funding.

Where We Work

We are a national, bilingual non-profit organization headquartered in Vancouver, with offices in Toronto and Montreal, and remote staff and dedicated volunteers throughout Canada.

Our research, project and policy work, and communications and public engagement activities span the country. We collaborate with Indigenous communities when called upon, and contribute at an international level in coalition with other organizations.

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Always grounded in sound evidence, the David Suzuki Foundation empowers people to take action in their communities on the environmental challenges we collectively face. We're One Nature. Through evidence-based research, policy analysis, education and citizen empowerment, we conserve and protect the natural environment to create a sustainable Canada.

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What's the big deal anyways?

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Introduction to light pollution for young people

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In recent years, there is a bit more talk about light pollution. Is it a big deal? Is light pollution an important issue? Find out here

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How can we reduce land pollution?

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Why is noise pollution harmful?

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What is water pollution?

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What is air pollution?

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Find out what air pollution is. What makes the air dirty and poisonous, and how air pollution can affect humans, plants and animals

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How do you affect forests around the world?

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Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil on Earth. It's in roughly half of the processed food in your local grocery. Chances are, palm oil is present in some form in nearly every room of your home.

Because of this demand, palm oil is also one of the biggest threats to rainforests. And the search for cheap palm oil causes not only deforestation, but also human rights violations, massive carbon emissions, removal of Indigenous peoples from their land, child labor, forced labor - and the industry is pushing species such as the Sumatran Orangutan to the brink of the extinction.

To fight this crisis, RAN's Conflict Palm Oil campaign has been targetting some of the biggest, most well-known snack food brands across the globe since 2007.

Find out more-and how you can get involved.

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Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil on Earth. It's in roughly half of the processed food in your local grocery. Chances are, palm oil is present in some form in nearly every room of your home. Because of this demand, palm oil is also one of the biggest threats to rainforests.

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Get the Facts!

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Climate change is when the average long-term weather patterns of a region are altered for an extended period of time, typically decades or longer. Examples include shifts in wind patterns, the average temperature or the amount of precipitation. These changes can affect one region, many regions or the whole planet. 1

Climate changes are caused by changes in the total amount of energy that is kept within the Earth's atmosphere. This change in energy is then spread out around the globe mainly by ocean currents as well as wind and weather patterns to affect the climates of different regions. 2

What are the causes of climate change?

Natural processes such as volcanic eruptions, variations in Earth's orbit or changes in the sun's intensity are possible causes.

However, humans activities can also cause changes to the climate for example by creating greenhouse gases emissions or cutting down forests.

The Earth's climate has never been completely static and in the past the planet's climate has changed due to natural causes.

Global warming and the climate changes seen today are being caused by the increase of carbon dioxide (CO ₂) and other greenhouse gas emissions by humans.

Human activities like the burning of fossil fuels, industrial production, etc. increase greenhouse gas levels. This traps more heat in our atmosphere, which drives global warming and climate change. 3

So while CO ₂ and other greenhouse gases are naturally present in the atmosphere, emissions from human activities have greatly amplified the natural greenhouse effect. CO ₂ concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere has increased significantly since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and most especially in the past 50 years. 4

Computer models, ice core evidence as well as fossilized land and marine samples show that CO ₂ is at it's highest level in the last 3 million years and that CO ₂ concentrations have increased because of human activities like fossil fuel use and deforestation. 5 6 7

Human activities have caused the Earth's average temperature to increase by more than 0.75°C over the last 100 years. 4 Scientists have tracked not only the changes in the temperature of the air and oceans, but other indicators such as the melting of the polar ice caps and the increase of world-wide sea levels.

The impact of these shifts have an impact on all life-forms on our planet including their sources of food and water. Current impacts that are already being observed are desertification, rising sea-levels as well as stronger extreme weather events like hurricanes and cyclones.

More info:
What is Climate Change? - Climate Action Network Canada
Basics: Climate Change - US EPA
Climate Change: Evidence - NASA
What is climate change? - BBC News

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Climate change is when the average long-term weather patterns of a region are altered for an extended period of time, typically decades or longer. Examples include shifts in wind patterns, the average temperature or the amount of precipitation. These changes can affect one region, many regions or the whole planet.Allison, Ian.

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Does the environment play a role in your health?

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Enviro Info & Online Learning

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Nature Education online - Distance learning - understanding Nature

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BSB Nature Education: Knowledge about life on Earth. BSB Master Conservationists Peter + Marianne Bonenberger offer Nature education in English + German to have a better life, to care for your children. Learn online with Distance learning