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Amid the horror and uncertainty of a global health crisis it can be easy to forget that another worldwide disaster is unfolding, although much more slowly.

Global warming is happening, and its effects are being felt around the world. The only real debates are over how fast and how far the climate will change, and what society should do - the global-warming equivalents of lockdowns and social distancing - to slow or stop it and limit the damage.

As of now, the damage seems to be getting worse. As I wrote in December, impacts that scientists predicted years ago - including severe storms, heat waves and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets - are accelerating.

The coronavirus pandemic can seem overwhelming because of its sheer scope; so can climate change. As a science writer at The Times for more than 20 years, I've learned that, to avoid being overwhelmed, it helps to start by understanding one part of the larger problem.

So let's take a closer look at one piece: what's happening at the top of the world, the Arctic. It's a good place to understand the science of climate change, and, it turns out, a critically important one to understand its effects.

Since the mid-1990s, the Arctic has been warming faster than any other region of the planet: currently, at least two and a half times as fast. (Last year, average air temperatures were about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.9 degrees Celsius, higher than the average from 1981-2010.)

In large part, the Arctic is warming the way the rest of the world warms, only up north the process has run amok.

As the concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases increase in the atmosphere, so does the amount of heat they trap. But the source of that heat is sunlight striking the Earth, and the amount of heat radiated differs depending on the surface the sunlight hits. Just as a black car gets much hotter than a white car on a sunny day, darker parts of the planet absorb more sunlight, and in turn radiate more heat, than lighter parts.

The Central Arctic is all ocean - dark water that is covered, to a varying extent, by light ice. The ice absorbs only about 30 to 40 percent of the sunlight hitting it; the rest is reflected. Ocean, on the other hand, absorbs more than 90 percent.

As the Arctic warms more of the ice disappears, leaving more dark ocean to absorb more sunlight and radiate even more heat, causing even more loss of ice. It's a vicious cycle that contributes to rapid warming in the region.

Is this happening at the South Pole as well? No, because while the Arctic is mostly water surrounded by land, Antarctica is the opposite, a huge land mass surrounded by ocean. Some of the ice that covers the continent is melting, but no dark ocean is being exposed. (That's not to say that the continent isn't losing ice: it is, mostly through calving of icebergs and melting of the undersides of ice shelves.)

In the Arctic, currents and winds flow out of the region and affect weather elsewhere.

Weakening of the high-altitude winds known as the polar jet stream can bring extra-frigid winter weather to North America and Europe. Cold snaps like these have occurred for a long time although, because of global warming, studies have found that they are not as cold as they used to be. But some scientists now say they think Arctic warming is causing the jet stream to wobble in ways that lead to more extreme weather year round, by creating zones of high-pressure air that can cause weather systems - the ones that bring extreme heat, for example - to stall.

Arctic warming may also be affecting climate over the longer term. As Greenland's ice sheet melts, the fresh water it releases lowers the saltiness of the nearby ocean. These salinity changes may eventually have an effect on some of the large ocean currents that help determine long-term climate trends in parts of the world.

As climate researchers are fond of saying, what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic.

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How bad is climate change now? (Published 2020)

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Amid the horror and uncertainty of a global health crisis it can be easy to forget that another worldwide disaster is unfolding, although much more slowly. Global warming is happening, and its effects are being felt around the world.

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Thermal oscillations on the planet during the last 2000 years

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Thermal oscillations on the planet during the last 2000 years

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oscilación temperaturas en el mundo durante los últimos 2000 años

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Activity 3: Why Zaragoza smell like a cabbage? (ESTA ACTIVIDAD ESTABA PLANIFICADA PERO TRAS LA ENTREVISTA CON EL TUTOR SE DECIDIÓ DESCARTARLA)

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Activity 3: Why Zaragoza smell like a cabbage? (ESTA ACTIVIDAD ESTABA PLANIFICADA PERO TRAS LA ENTREVISTA CON EL TUTOR SE DECIDIÓ DESCARTARLA)

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The Sustainable Development Goals – Action Towards 2030 | CAFOD and SDGs

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Decrease in ice mass at the north pole due to global warming

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Decrease in ice mass at the north pole due to global warming

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Arctic amplification: How the albedo effect speeds up global warming

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Arctic amplification: How the albedo effect speeds up global warming

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Arctic amplification: How the albedo effect speeds up global warming | Jon Gertner | Big Think

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Video: The history of the climate change.

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Video: The history of the climate change.

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Throughout the planet's history, different thermal changes have occurred, however, especially in the last 150 years after the second industrial revolution, the emission of greenhouse gases and more especially carbon dioxide has accelerated a process of global warming due to human activity

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The history of Earth's temperature - BBC Environment

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Consequences of melting of the polar caps

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Consequences of melting of the polar caps

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What If All The Ice Melted On Earth? ft. Bill Nye

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Vídeo: Global warming because of human activity.

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Vídeo: Global warming because of human activity.

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Write a summary of this video

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simpleshow explains the Carbon Footprint

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Activity 6: the effects of rising sea levels

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Activity 6: the effects of rising sea levels

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On this map we can see the effects of a rise in sea level in some important coastal cities of the world in which a large part of the world population is concentrated. In groups of 4 you should answer the following questions after seeing de map.

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here.

Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

Learn more about Google Earth.

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

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Activity 5: Causes and consequences of global warming

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Activity 5: Causes and consequences of global warming

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After accessing the necessary material, create a table with the working group of the causes and consequences of global warming.

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How much do you know about the link between climate change, extreme weather, and health?  Learn how it is all connected, the life-changing impacts on our planet and people.

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The Crucial Connection: Climate Change and Health | Kaiser Permanente

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What we can do to stop the effects of the carbon footprint?

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What we can do to stop the effects of the carbon footprint?

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One important way to fight climate change is to use alternative sources of renewable energy which will not release harmful emissions.

Some of these cleaner sources of renewable energy include wind energy, solar energy, water or hydroelectrc power, biomass, and geothermal energy.

By reducing reliance on and usage of fossil fuels, and tapping on alternative and greener sources of energy, emissions of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, will fall, helping to reduce global warming and fight climate change

Green driving tips

After coal-burning power plants, cars are the second largest source of carbon dioxide. One of the best strategies to reduce climate change is to reduce the use of cars.

Public transport should be encouraged, along with car pooling. This has been very successful in the USA, with car poolers being able to use 'fast lanes' during peak hours. Single motorists are fined for using these lanes.

Cars should be eco-friendly and fuel efficient drivers should ensure that vehicle engines are in good condition at all times. A car in poor working condition uses more fuel for the same mileage covered, and releases more carbon dioxide and exhaust gases.

New cars have 'stop start' technology which means that engines stop whenever cars stop, for example at traffic lights. This reduces fuel consumption and pollution.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

The culture of consumerism today encourages people to buy and throw away.

For each item purchased and used, energy and resources are used in its manufacture, packaging, transportation, retail, and ultimately its disposal. Pollution is created in each step of the process and substantial greenhouse gases are also released.

Reducing, reusing and recycling helps to conserve resources and energy, and reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions produced.

Organic farming

Organic farming does not use the chemical fertilisers used by conventional farming. These fertilisers release nitrous oxide and methane into the environment.

As the demand for organically grown produce increases, organic farming will become more economically viable and more popular. This will help reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

Green shopping tips

Another way to reduce climate change is to buy local products instead of those produced overseas. Transporting exotic fruits and vegetables from one destination to another requires a lot of energy, usually from the burning of fossil fuels, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

In attempts to keep the fruits and vegetables fresh, chemical pesticides and preservatives are used, which again contribute to toxins and being released into the atmosphere.

Schools and institutions also have an important part to play in the process of educating people on the importance of protecting the Earth. This will encourage them to be more environmentally friendly in the future.

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Cleaner energy resources - Management strategies and their limitations - Higher Geography Revision - BBC Bitesize

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One important way to fight climate change is to use alternative sources of renewable energy which will not release harmful emissions. Some of these cleaner sources of renewable energy include wind energy, solar energy, water or hydroelectrc power, biomass, and geothermal energy.

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The incredyble ecosystems of Planet Earth (1)

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Activity 4: What we can do to stop  the carbon footprint?

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Activity 4: What we can do to stop  the carbon footprint?

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After watching the carbon footprint video, in groups of 4, you should write four steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint and thus avoid increasing the greenhouse effect.

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Paris Agreement to reduce Co2 emissions.

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Paris Agreement to reduce Co2 emissions.

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The authoritative information on the status of approval, acceptance, accession and ratification of the Agreement is provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the respective internet page of the United Nations Treaty Depositary under: Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 195 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It entered into force on 4 November 2016. Currently, as of 27 January 2026, there are 194 Parties to the Paris Agreement.

Its overarching goal is to hold "the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels" and pursue efforts "to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels."

However, in recent years, world leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of this century.

That's because the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.

To limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.

The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

How does the Paris Agreement work?

Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science. The Paris Agreement works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action -- or, ratcheting up -- carried out by countries. Since 2020, countries have been submitting their national climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Each successive NDC is meant to reflect an increasingly higher degree of ambition compared to the previous version.

Recognizing that accelerated action is required to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the COP27 cover decision requests Parties to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their NDCs to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2023, taking into account different national circumstances.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries also communicate in their NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Long-Term Strategies

To better frame the efforts towards the long-term goal, the Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).

LT-LEDS provide the long-term horizon to the NDCs. Unlike NDCs, they are not mandatory. Nevertheless, they place the NDCs into the context of countries' long-term planning and development priorities, providing a vision and direction for future development.

How are countries supporting one another?

The Paris Agreement provides a framework for financial, technical and capacity building support to those countries who need it.

Finance

The Paris Agreement reaffirms that developed countries should take the lead in providing financial assistance to countries that are less endowed and more vulnerable, while for the first time also encouraging voluntary contributions by other Parties. Climate finance is needed for mitigation, because large-scale investments are required to significantly reduce emissions. Climate finance is equally important for adaptation, as significant financial resources are needed to adapt to the adverse effects and reduce the impacts of a changing climate.

Technology

The Paris Agreement speaks of the vision of fully realizing technology development and transfer for both improving resilience to climate change and reducing GHG emissions. It establishes a technology framework to provide overarching guidance to the well-functioning Technology Mechanism. The mechanism is accelerating technology development and transfer through its policy and implementation arms.

Capacity-Building

Not all developing countries have sufficient capacities to deal with many of the challenges brought by climate change. As a result, the Paris Agreement places great emphasis on climate-related capacity-building for developing countries and requests all developed countries to enhance support for capacity-building actions in developing countries.

How are we tracking progress?

With the Paris Agreement, countries established an enhanced transparency framework (ETF). Under ETF, starting in 2024, countries will report transparently on actions taken and progress in climate change mitigation, adaptation measures and support provided or received. It also provides for international procedures for the review of the submitted reports.

The information gathered through the ETF will feed into the Global stocktake which will assess the collective progress towards the long-term climate goals.

This will lead to recommendations for countries to set more ambitious plans in the next round.

What have we achieved so far?

Although climate change action needs to be massively increased to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the years since its entry into force have already sparked low-carbon solutions and new markets. More and more countries, regions, cities and companies are establishing carbon neutrality targets. Zero-carbon solutions are becoming competitive across economic sectors representing 25% of emissions. This trend is most noticeable in the power and transport sectors and has created many new business opportunities for early movers.

By 2030, zero-carbon solutions could be competitive in sectors representing over 70% of global emissions.

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The authoritative information on the status of approval, acceptance, accession and ratification of the Agreement is provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the respective internet page of the United Nations Treaty Depositary under: Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.

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Activity 6: the effects of rising sea levels

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Activity 6: the effects of rising sea levels

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Activity 7: Debate in classroom about the importance of sustainability. (Al final sólo se hizo un debate final por hangouts y no esta actividad)

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Activity 7: Debate in classroom about the importance of sustainability. (Al final sólo se hizo un debate final por hangouts y no esta actividad)

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INTRO- Explicación por parte del profesor de los conceptos troncales de la actividad y de la tarea a realizar.

1-  See video and reading attached.

2-  What are the paris agreements and sustainable development goals? Do you think they are useful in the fight against climate change?

3-  Share  a commentary in classroom.

The quality of the participation will be valued and the grade be group.