Climate change and global warming are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.
Climate change refers to the long-term shifts in temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns that are occurring on Earth. These shifts can be caused by natural factors, such as volcanic eruptions and changes in the sun's intensity, but human activity is the main cause of climate change. Burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which trap heat and cause the Earth's average temperature to rise.
Global warming, on the other hand, is the increase in the Earth's average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases. It is a part of climate change, but it is not the same thing as climate change. Global warming is often used to describe the warming that has occurred over the past few decades, while climate change includes both global warming and the other changes that are occurring in the Earth's climate.
So, to summarize: climate change is the long-term shifts in the Earth's climate, while global warming is the increase in the Earth's average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases.
Another point to highlight here is that because global warming is increasing the surface temperature, it causes climate change and which leads to the melting of glaciers even faster than predicted. A piece of news posted by the Times on 5th Jan 2023 and stated by David Rounce, The world is now on track for a 2.7-degree Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise since pre-industrial times, which by the year 2100 means losing 32% of the world’s glacier mass, or 48.5 trillion metric tons of ice as well as 68% of the glaciers disappearing. That would increase sea level rise by 4.5 inches (115 millimetres) in addition to seas already getting larger from melting ice sheets and warmer water,
“No matter what, we’re going to lose a lot of the glaciers,” Rounce, a glaciologist and engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said. “But we have the ability to make a difference by limiting how many glaciers we lose.”
“For many small glaciers it is too late,” said study co-author Regine Hock, a glaciologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Oslo in Norway. “However, globally our results clearly show that every degree of global temperature matters to keep as much ice as possible locked up in the glaciers.” But the loss of glaciers is about more than rising seas. It means shrinking water supplies for a big chunk of the world’s population, more risk from flood events from melting glaciers and about losing historic ice-covered spots from Alaska to the Alps to even near Mount Everest’s base camp, several scientists told The Associated Press.
“For places like the Alps or Iceland… glaciers are part of what makes these landscapes so special,” said National Snow and Ice Data Center Director Mark Serreze, who wasn’t part of the study but praised it. “As they lose their ice in a sense they also lose their soul.”
In conclusion, climate change is inevitable and it has been with years for billions of years. However, the global temperature is something we humans can fix it. It is never too late to reduce greenhouse gases from emitting into the air and also to stop pollution that kills us all. Can we stop both climate change & global warming? I leave that to your habits to answer it.
Let's change our habits to a green ones for a better greener sustainable future.
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