We’ve all heard about climate change due to rising sea levels and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. But the question is, how rapidly is the climate actually changing? The recently signed Paris Agreement, in which countries worldwide have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving transparency on their progress, will have potential global ramifications on economies and people’s health.
It’s therefore critical that we have data from multiple sources to gauge the urgency of the problem.
Two recent infographics—A Breathing Planet Off Balance and Sea Level Rise—profile NASA’s efforts to assess climate change. Given how high the stakes are, it’s amazing to see all that is being done to monitor the global ecosystem and the changing planet. Hopefully, these efforts will better inform us all on the dynamic nature of our planet.
Images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech and NASA Earth Observatory