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

However, this stopgap measure is proving increasingly inadequate as climate change amplifies the frequency and severity of natural disasters. —Dr. Alex Gold, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

Davos and its values To be fair, the problem of climate change was never going to be solved in Davos. —David Gelles, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Today, 68% of IKEA’s customers worldwide see climate change as the biggest threat and worry about our future. —Jesper Brodin, TIME, 23 Jan. 2025

Fraenkel began the panel by discussing how commodity trading aligns with climate change goals. —Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025

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