The conversation around global warming often swings between alarm and skepticism. On one hand, we hear dire warnings of impending climate catastrophe; on the other, some argue that Earth has always changed, and humanity will simply adapt. Let’s cut through the noise and summarize what the science, particularly from incredible sources like polar ice, tells us, and what our path forward looks like.
For many, “global warming” feels like a modern problem, a product of our industrial age. And in many ways, it is. But to truly understand the climate changes we’re witnessing today, it helps to appreciate Earth’s long and often dramatic climate history. And nowhere is that history more vividly recorded than in the vast, silent archives of our planet’s polar ice.
Global climate predictions indicate that temperatures are expected to remain at or near record levels in the coming years. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports an 80% chance that at least one of the next five years will exceed 2024 as the warmest on record. There’s also an 86% chance that at least one of those years will be more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average (1850-1900). World Meteorological Organization WMO
