Climate Change Information

Extreme weather events are predicted to become more frequent because of climate change.  

What causes climate change?

Climate change or global warming is caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide (C0₂) and other polluting gases in our atmosphere.

Heat from the Sun is trapped by the gases in our atmosphere by forming a blanket around the Earth - like the glass of a greenhouse.

Once released, the greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere for many years and as they build up, the planet's temperature rises.

Greenhouse gases are released by burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - and by cutting down forests; this has increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by 30% over natural levels (IPCC).

The 1990s was the warmest decade, and 1998 the warmest year on record (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC) with the Earth warming faster than at any time in the past 10,000 years (IPCC).