query: Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.

positive: Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports.  Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors.

positive: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP .  The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . ''   The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources .   Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries .   The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore .

positive: Global issue Informally , a global issue describes any social , economic , political or environmental problem that affects the global community , possibly in a catastrophic way .   Solution to global issues requires cooperation among nations .   In their book Global Issues , Hite and Seitz emphasize that global issues are qualitatively different from international affairs and that the former arise from growing international interdependencies which makes the issues themselves interdependent .

positive: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

negative: Scientific opinion on climate change The scientific opinion on climate change is the overall judgment among scientists regarding the extent to which global warming is occurring , its causes , and its probable consequences . The scientific consensus is that the Earth 's climate system is unequivocally warming , and that it is extremely likely ( meaning 95 % probability or higher ) that this warming is predominantly caused by humans . It is likely that this mainly arises from increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere , such as from deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels , partially offset by human caused increases in aerosols ; natural changes had little effect .   This scientific opinion is expressed in synthesis reports , by scientific bodies of national or international standing , and by surveys of opinion among climate scientists . Individual scientists , universities , and laboratories contribute to the overall scientific opinion via their peer-reviewed publications , and the areas of collective agreement and relative certainty are summarised in these respected reports and surveys .   National and international science academies and scientific societies have assessed current scientific opinion on global warming . These assessments are generally consistent with the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report stated that :  Warming of the climate system is unequivocal , as evidenced by increases in global average air and ocean temperatures , the widespread melting of snow and ice , and rising global average sea level .  Most of the global warming since the mid-20th century is very likely due to human activities .  Benefits and costs of climate change for -LSB- human -RSB- society will vary widely by location and scale . Some of the effects in temperate and polar regions will be positive and others elsewhere will be negative . Overall , net effects are more likely to be strongly negative with larger or more rapid warming .  The range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time .  The resilience of many ecosystems is likely to be exceeded this century by an unprecedented combination of climate change , associated disturbances ( e.g. flooding , drought , wildfire , insects , ocean acidification ) and other global change drivers ( e.g. land-use change , pollution , fragmentation of natural systems , over-exploitation of resources ) .   Some scientific bodies have recommended specific policies to governments , and science can play a role in informing an effective response to climate change . Policy decisions , however , may require value judgements and so are not included in the scientific opinion .   No scientific body of national or international standing maintains a formal opinion dissenting from any of these main points . The last national or international scientific body to drop dissent was the American Association of Petroleum Geologists , which in 2007 updated its statement to its current non-committal position . Some other organizations , primarily those focusing on geology , also hold non-committal positions .

negative: IPCC First Assessment Report The First Assessment Report ( FAR ) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) was completed in 1990 . It served as the basis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) .   The report was issued in three main sections , corresponding to the three Working Groups of scientists that the IPCC had established .   Working Group I : Scientific Assessment of Climate Change , edited by J.T. Houghton , G.J. Jenkins and J.J. Ephraums  Working Group II : Impacts Assessment of Climate Change , edited by W.J. McG . Tegart , G.W. Sheldon and D.C. Griffiths  Working Group III : The IPCC Response Strategies   Each section included a summary for policymakers . This format was followed in subsequent Assessment Reports .   The executive summary of the policymakers ' summary of the WG I report includes :   We are certain of the following : there is a natural greenhouse effect ... ; emissions resulting from human activities are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases : CO2 , methane , CFCs and nitrous oxide . These increases will enhance the greenhouse effect , resulting on average in an additional warming of the Earth 's surface . The main greenhouse gas , water vapour , will increase in response to global warming and further enhance it .  We calculate with confidence that : ... CO2 has been responsible for over half the enhanced greenhouse effect ; long-lived gases would require immediate reductions in emissions from human activities of over 60 % to stabilise their concentrations at today 's levels ...  Based on current models , we predict : under -LSB- BAU -RSB- increase of global mean temperature during the -LSB- 21st -RSB- century of about 0.3 oC per decade ( with an uncertainty range of 0.2 to 0.5 oC per decade ) ; this is greater than that seen over the past 10,000 years ; under other ... scenarios which assume progressively increasing levels of controls , rates of increase in global mean temperature of about 0.2 oC -LSB- to -RSB- about 0.1 oC per decade .  There are many uncertainties in our predictions particularly with regard to the timing , magnitude and regional patterns of climate change , due to our incomplete understanding of : sources and sinks of GHGs ; clouds ; oceans ; polar ice sheets .  Our judgement is that : global mean surface air temperature has increased by 0.3 to 0.6 oC over the last 100 years ... ; The size of this warming is broadly consistent with predictions of climate models , but it is also of the same magnitude as natural climate variability . Thus the observed increase could be largely due to this natural variability ; alternatively this variability and other human factors could have offset a still larger human-induced greenhouse warming . The unequivocal detection of the enhanced greenhouse effect is not likely for a decade or more .  under the IPCC business as usual emissions scenario , an average rate of global mean sea level rise of about 6 cm per decade over the next century ( with an uncertainty range of 3 -- 10 cm per decade ) , mainly due to thermal expansion of the oceans and the melting of some land ice . The predicted rise is about 20 cm ... by 2030 , and 65 cm by the end of the next century .

negative: Global Climate Observing System As an outcome of the Second World Climate Conference , the Global Climate Observing System ( GCOS ) was established in 1992 to ensure that the observations and information needed to address climate-related issues are obtained and made available to all potential users . The GCOS is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) , the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission ( IOC ) of UNESCO , the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and the International Council for Science ( ICSU ) . In order to assess and monitor the adequacy of in-situ observation networks as well as satellite-based observing systems , GCOS regularly reports on the adequacy of the current climate observing system to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , and thereby identifies the needs of the current climate observing system .   The Global Climate Observing System ( GCOS ) is a system that comprises the climate-relevant components of many contributing observing systems and networks . The mission of the GCOS programme is to help ensure that these contributing systems , taken as a whole , provide the comprehensive information on the global climate system that is required by users , including individuals , national and international organizations , institutions and agencies . The programme promotes the sustained provision and availability of reliable physical , chemical and biological observations and data records for the total climate system - across the atmospheric , oceanic and terrestrial domains , including the Hydrological cycle , the Carbon cycle and the Cryosphere .

negative: Climate of Adelaide Adelaide has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csa ) , with mild to cool winters with moderate rainfall and warm to hot , dry summers .   Adelaide is the driest of the Australian capital cities and the past two decades have been far warmer than usual , with the past 8 years seeing an excess of 40 + degrees every summer . Alarmingly , the city has also recorded almost 10 consecutive years of below-average Spring rainfall , with 2014 on track to continuing this trend .   A spike in heat waves , droughts and record-breaking high temperatures over the past decade has led to some concerns over the effects of global warming and Man-made climate change ( AGW ) on the city . Nine of the ten warmest years recorded in Adelaide have occurred since 2002 , with 2013 being the hottest year and summer 2015 -- 2016 being the fourth-hottest summer recorded .

negative: Global warming hiatus A global warming hiatus , also sometimes referred to as a global warming pause or a global warming slowdown , is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures . In the current episode of global warming many such 15-year periods appear in the surface temperature record , along with robust evidence of the long-term warming trend ; climate is classically averaged over 30-year periods .   Publicity has surrounded claims of a global warming hiatus during the period 1998 -- 2013 . The exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998 was an outlier from the continuing temperature trend , and so subsequent annual temperatures gave the appearance of a hiatus : by January 2006 , it appeared to some that global warming had stopped or paused . A 2009 study showed that decades without warming were not exceptional , and in 2011 a study showed that if allowances were made for known variability , the rising temperature trend continued unabated . There was increased public interest in 2013 in the run-up to publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report , and despite concerns that a 15-year period was too short to determine a meaningful trend , the IPCC included a section on a hiatus , which it defined as a much smaller increasing linear trend over the 15 years from 1998 to 2012 , than over the 60 years from 1951 to 2012 . Various studies examined possible causes of the short-term slowdown . Even though the overall climate system has continued to accumulate energy due to Earth 's positive energy budget , the available temperature readings at the Earth 's surface indicate slower rates of increase in surface warming than in the prior decade . Since measurements at the top of the atmosphere show that Earth is receiving more energy than it is radiating back into space , the retained energy should be producing warming in the Earth 's climate system .   Research reported in July 2015 on an updated NOAA dataset casts doubt on the existence of a hiatus , and it finds no indication of a slowdown even in earlier years . Scientists working on other datasets welcomed this study , though they have expressed the view that the recent warming trend was less than in previous periods of the same length . Subsequently , a detailed study supports the conclusion that warming is continuing , but it also find there was less warming between 2001 and 2010 than climate models had predicted , and that this slowdown might be attributed to short-term variations in the Pacific decadal oscillation ( PDO ) , which was negative during that period . Another review finds `` no substantive evidence '' of a pause in global warming . A statistical study of global temperature data since 1970 concludes that the term ` hiatus ' or ` pause ' is not justified .   Independent of these discussions about data and measurements for earlier years , 2015 turned out to be much warmer than any of the earlier years , already before El Niño conditions started . The warmth of 2015 largely ended any remaining scientific credibility of claims that the supposed `` hiatus '' since 1998 had any significance for the long-term warming trend . In January 2017 , a study published in the journal Science Advances cast further doubt on the existence of a recent pause , with more evidence that ocean temperatures have been underestimated . An April 2017 study found the data consistent with a steady warming trend globally since the 1970s , with fluctuations within the expected range of short term variability .

negative: Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally .   Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be .   Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming .

negative: Debate over China's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation This article documents the debate over China 's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation and mitigation of climate change in China .   Both internationally and within the People 's Republic of China , there has been an ongoing debate over China 's responsibilities , particularly since 2006 , when China surpassed the US as the country with the highest emissions rate for the main atmospheric gas in global warming , carbon dioxide ( CO2 )

negative: List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming This is a list of scientists who have made statements that conflict with the scientific consensus on global warming as summarized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and endorsed by other scientific bodies . As approximately 97 % of publishing climate scientists support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change , this list represents a minority viewpoint .   The scientific consensus is that the global average surface temperature has risen over the last century . Scientific opinion on climate change was summarized in the 2001 Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) . The main conclusions on global warming at that time were as follows :  The global average surface temperature has risen 0.6 ± 0.2 ° C since the late 19th century , and 0.17 ° C per decade in the last 30 years .  `` There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities '' , in particular emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane .  If greenhouse gas emissions continue the warming will also continue , with temperatures projected to increase by 1.4 ° C to 5.8 ° C between 1990 and 2100 . Accompanying this temperature increase will be increases in some types of extreme weather and a projected sea level rise . The balance of impacts of global warming become significantly negative at larger values of warming .   These findings are recognized by the national science academies of all the major industrialized nations ; the consensus has strengthened over time and is now virtually unanimous . The level of consensus correlates with expertise in climate science .   There have been several efforts to compile lists of dissenting scientists , including a 2008 US senate minority report , the Oregon Petition , and a 2007 list by the Heartland Institute , all three of which have been criticized on a number of grounds .   For the purpose of this list , a `` scientist '' is defined as an individual who has published at least one peer-reviewed research article in the broad field of natural sciences , although not necessarily in a field relevant to climatology . Since the publication of the IPCC Third Assessment Report , each has made a clear statement in his or her own words ( as opposed to the name being found on a petition , etc. ) disagreeing with one or more of the report 's three main conclusions . Their views on climate change are usually described in more detail in their biographical articles . Few of the statements in the references for this list are part of the peer-reviewed scientific literature ; most are from other sources such as interviews , opinion pieces , online essays and presentations .   NB : Only individuals who have their own Wikipedia article may be included in the list .

negative: CLIMAT CLIMAT is a code for reporting monthly climatological data assembled at land-based meteorological surface observation sites to data centres . CLIMAT-coded messages contain information on several meteorological variables that are important to monitor characteristics , changes , and variability of climate . Usually these messages are sent and exchanged via the Global Telecommunication System ( GTS ) of the World Meteorological Organisation ( WMO ) . Modifications of the CLIMAT code are the CLIMAT SHIP and CLIMAT TEMP / CLIMAT TEMP SHIP codes which serve to report monthly climatological data assembled at ocean-based meteorological surface observation sites and at land - / ocean-based meteorological upper-air observation sites , respectively . The monthly values included usually are obtained by averaging observational values of one or several daily observations over the respective month .

negative: Climate change denial Climate change denial , or global warming denial , is part of the global warming controversy . It involves denial , dismissal , unwarranted doubt or contrarian views which strongly depart from the scientific opinion on climate change , including the extent to which it is caused by humans , its impacts on nature and human society , or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions . Some deniers do endorse the term , but others often prefer the term climate change skepticism , although this is a misnomer for those who deny anthropogenic global warming . In effect , the two terms form a continuous , overlapping range of views , and generally have the same characteristics : both reject , to a greater or lesser extent , mainstream scientific opinion on climate change . Climate change denial can also be implicit , when individuals or social groups accept the science but fail to come to terms with it or to translate their acceptance into action . Several social science studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism .   Campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science has been described as a `` denial machine '' of industrial , political and ideological interests , supported by conservative media and skeptical bloggers in manufacturing uncertainty about global warming . In the public debate , phrases such as climate skepticism have frequently been used with the same meaning as climate denialism . The labels are contested : those actively challenging climate science commonly describe themselves as `` skeptics '' , but many do not comply with common standards of scientific skepticism and , regardless of evidence , persistently deny the validity of human caused global warming .   Although scientific opinion on climate change is that human activity is extremely likely to be the primary driver of climate change , the politics of global warming have been affected by climate change denial , hindering efforts to prevent climate change and adapt to the warming climate . Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of a scientific controversy where there is none .   Of the world 's countries , the climate change denial industry is most powerful in the United States . Since January 2015 , the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has been chaired by oil lobbyist and climate change denier Jim Inhofe . Inhofe is notorious for having called climate change `` the greatest hoax ever perpetrated against the American people '' and for having claimed to have debunked the alleged hoax in February 2015 when he brought a snowball with him in the Senate chamber and tossed it across the floor . Organised campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science is associated with conservative economic policies and backed by industrial interests opposed to the regulation of emissions . Climate change denial has been associated with the fossil fuels lobby , the Koch brothers , industry advocates and libertarian think tanks , often in the United States . More than 90 % of papers sceptical on climate change originate from right-wing think tanks .  The total annual income of these climate change counter-movement-organizations is roughly $ 900 million . Between 2002 and 2010 , nearly $ 120 million ( # 77 million ) was anonymously donated via the Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund to more than 100 organisations seeking to undermine the public perception of the science on climate change . In 2013 the Center for Media and Democracy reported that the State Policy Network ( SPN ) , an umbrella group of 64 U.S. think tanks , had been lobbying on behalf of major corporations and conservative donors to oppose climate change regulation .   Since the late 1970s , oil companies have published research broadly in line with the standard views on global warming . Despite this , oil companies organized a climate change denial campaign to disseminate public disinformation for several decades , a strategy that has been compared to the organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking by tobacco companies .

negative: Global Change Observation Mission GCOM ( Global Change Observation Mission ) , is a series of JAXA Earth observation satellites as a successor to the ill-fated ADEOS 2 satellite and to the Aqua Mission . GCOM is , together with the GPM Mission , Japan 's contribution to the GEOSS ( Global Earth Observation System of Systems ) .   To increase security and scientific output , JAXA made the decision to split the original ADEOS 2 mission into two models of smaller satellites , GCOM-W for water observation and GCOM-C for climate observation . It is planned to launch three satellites for each mission during the next decade , with each subsequent satellite overlapping to provide continuous coverage .

negative: David Legates David Russell Legates is a Professor of Geography at the University of Delaware . He is the former Director of the Center for Climatic Research at the same university ,  and a former Delaware State Climatologist .   Legates has published research papers , opinion editorials , and spoken openly in opposition to the consensus scientific opinion on climate change . More recently , he has been known for his skepticism toward the anthropogenic cause of the observed global warming patterns and the severity of its consequences at the local geographical scale .   Legates viewpoint , as stated in a 2015 study that he co-authored , is that the Earth will experience about 1.0 C warming over the 2000 to 2100 period .

negative: Climate change and potatoes Global warming is predicted to have significant effects on global potato production . Like many crops , potatoes are likely to be affected by changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide , temperature and precipitation , as well as interactions between these factors . As well as affecting potatoes directly , climate change will also affect the distributions and populations of many potato diseases and pests .  Potato is one of the world 's most important food crops . Potato production must be adapted to climate change to avoid reductions in crop yields .

negative: Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate ( SPARC ) is a core project of the World Climate Research Programme .   Founded in 1992 , SPARC has coordinated high-level research activities related to understanding Earth system processes for over two decades . More specifically , SPARC promotes and facilitates cutting-edge international research activities on how chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere interact with climate and climate change .

negative: Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) The Copernicus Climate Change Service ( C3S ) is one of the six thematic services provided by the European Union 's Copernicus Programme . The Copernicus Programme is managed by the European Commission and the C3S is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ( ECMWF ) and is expected to become operational in 2018 .   The objective of the Copernicus Climate Change Service is to build an EU knowledge base in support of mitigation and adaptation policies for Climate Change and Global Warming . The goal of the operational Climate Change service is to provide reliable information about the current and past state of the climate , the forecasts on a seasonal time scale , and the more likely projections in the coming decades for various scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions and other Climate Change contributors .

negative: Friends of Science Friends of Science ( FoS ) is a Canadian non-profit advocacy organization based in Calgary , Alberta . The organization takes a position that humans are largely not responsible for the currently observed global warming , contrary to the established scientific position on the subject . Rather , they propose that `` the Sun is the main direct and indirect driver of climate change , '' not human activity . They argued against the Kyoto Protocol . The society was founded in 2002 and launched its website in October of that year . They are considered by many to promote climate change denial . They are largely funded by the fossil fuel industry .   Madhav Khandekar , Chris de Freitas , Tim Patterson and Sallie Baliunas act as advisers to the Friends of Science with their work cited in Friends ' publications . Douglas Leahey has been president since December , 2009 .

negative: The Climate Mobilization The Climate Mobilization ( TCM ) is a grassroots environmental advocacy group working toward large-scale political action against global warming , with the belief that the crisis of climate change requires a national economic effort on the scale of the American mobilization of the home front during World War II .   It was founded by psychologist Margaret Klein Salamon to confront climate change denial and build the political will necessary to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and 100 % clean energy within a decade in order to avoid crossing potentially catastrophic climate tipping points and begin restoring a safe climate .

negative: Coral in non-tropical regions The poleward migration of coral species refers to the phenomenon brought on by rising sea temperatures, wherein corals are colonising cooler climates in an attempt to circumvent coral bleaching, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. In the age of Anthropocene, the changing global climate has disrupted fundamental natural processes and brought about observable changes in the submarine sphere. Whilst coral reefs are bleaching in tropical areas like the Great Barrier Reef, even more striking, and perhaps more alarming; is the growth of tropical coral species in temperate regions, which has taken place over the past decade. Coral reefs are frequently compared to the "canaries in the coal mine," who were used by miners as an indicator of air quality. In much the same way, "coral reefs are sensitive to environmental changes that could damage other habitats in the future," meaning they will be the first to visually exhibit the true implications of global warming on the natural world.

negative: Glossary of climate change This article serves as a glossary of climate change terms . It lists terms that are related to global warming .

negative: List of ministers of climate change A list of ministers of climate change or officials in charge of cabinet positions with portfolios dealing primarily with climate change and issues related to mitigation of global warming .

negative: Climate change in Idaho Like other parts of the world , climate in Idaho has changed dramatically over the geologic history of the Earth . Paleo-climatic records give some indication of these changes . The longest instrumented records of climate in Idaho extend back to the late 1800s . Concern over human induced climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and methane from agriculture and industry , are driving research efforts across the state at university , state , and federals levels to understand what the implications of climate change could be in Idaho .   In the big picture of greenhouse gas emissions , Idaho emits the least carbon dioxide per person of the United States , less than 23,000 pounds a year . It relies mostly on nonpolluting hydroelectric power from its rivers .   Like other parts of the world , Idaho has seen significant temperature increases , especially in the last several decades . From 1971-2005 the average annual observed temperature in the Snake River Plain , located in southern Idaho , has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius based on data from 10 climate stations ( Dubois , Ashton , Oakely , Pocatello , Aberdeen , Hazelton , Jerome , Boise , Nampa , and Payette ) . Statistically the increasing temperature trends are most significant in the months of January , March , and April . While precipitation has generally increased , since the early 1900s . The high variability in precipitation makes the identification of precipitation trends statistically difficult .   Over the next century , climate in Idaho will experience additional changes due both to ` natural ' climate variability and due to feedbacks related to the interaction between climate variability and increasing greenhouse gases . For example , based on projections made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and results from the United Kingdom Hadley Centre 's climate model ( HadCM2 ) , a model that accounts for both greenhouse gases and aerosols , by 2100 temperatures in Idaho could increase by 5 F-change ( with a range of 2 F-change to 9 F-change ) in winter and summer and 4 F-change ( with a range of 2 F-change to 7 F-change ) in spring and fall . Precipitation is estimated to change little in summer , to increase by 10 % in spring and fall ( with a range of 5-20 % ) , and to increase by 20 % in winter ( with a range of 10-40 % ) . Other climate models may show different results , especially regarding estimated changes in precipitation . The impacts described in the sections that follow take into account estimates from different models . The amount of precipitation on extreme wet or snowy days in winter is likely to increase . The frequency of extreme hot days in summer would increase because of the general warming trend . It is not clear how the severity of storms might be affected , although an increase in the frequency and intensity of winter storms is possible .

negative: Alliance of Small Island States Alliance of Small Island States ( AOSIS ) is an intergovernmental organization of low lying coastal and small island countries . Established in 1990 , the main purpose of the alliance is to consolidate the voices of Small Island Developing States ( SIDS ) to address global warming . AOSIS has been very active from its inception , putting forward the first draft text in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations as early as 1994 . At the 2013 Warsaw climate change conference , AOSIS also pushed for the establishment of an international mechanism on loss and damages stressed by the wreckage of Supertyphoon Haiyan . As the existence of many AOSIS states are put at risk by climate change AOSIS has threatened lawsuits . The results of a recent review of the literature show that potential liability for climate change-related losses for the Alliance of Small Island States is over $ 570 trillion .   Many of the member states were present at the December 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference ( COP15 ) . Democracy Now ! reported that members from the island state of Tuvalu interrupted a session of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference on 10 December 2009 to demand that global temperature rise be limited to 1.5 ° C instead of the proposed 2 ° C.   AOSIS has a membership of 44 states , of which 39 are members of the United Nations and 5 observers from all around the world . The alliance represents 28 % of the developing countries , and 20 % of the UN 's total membership .

negative: Global Sea Level Observing System The Global Sea Level Observing System ( GLOSS ) is an Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission program whose purpose is to measure sea level globally for long-term climate change studies . The program 's purpose has changed since the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the program now collects realtime measurements of sea level . The project is currently upgrading the over 290 stations it currently runs , so that they can send realtime data via satellite to newly set up national tsunami centres . They are also fitting the stations with solar panels so they can continue to operate even if the mains power supply is interrupted by severe weather . The Global Sea Level Observing System does not compete with Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis as most GLOSS transducers are located close to land masses while DART 's transducers are far out in the ocean .

negative: Jonathan M. Gregory Jonathan M. Gregory FRS is a climate modeller working on mechanisms of global and large-scale change in climate and sea level on multidecadal and longer timescales . He is currently a senior scientist in the Climate Division of NERC 's National Centre for Atmospheric Science ( NCAS-Climate ) , located in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading ; and a Research Fellow in climate change at the Met Office Hadley Centre .   A 2004 study , led by Gregory and published in the journal Nature , predicted that the Greenland ice sheet is likely to be eliminated as a consequence of global warming , resulting in a rise in global sea-levels by 7 meters over the next 1000 years or more .   He was a co-ordinating Lead Author of the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report chapter 11 Changes in Sea Level , and a contributing author to the sea level chapter in the IPCC Second Assessment Report '' . Gregory was also a co-Lead Author of the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report chapter 5 Observations : Oceanic Climate Change and Sea Level , and chapter 10 Global Climate Projections . IPCC was a co-recipient ( with Al Gore ) of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its work on climate change .   In 2010 Jonathan Gregory was awarded an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council to carry out research on sea level change .   In 2017 Jonathan Gregory was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society .

negative: List of climate change initiatives Here is a list of international , national , regional , and local political initiatives to take action on climate change ( global warming ) .   A Climate Action Plan ( CAP ) is a set of strategies intended to guide efforts for climate change mitigation .

negative: Helen Cleugh Helen A. Cleugh is an atmospheric scientist . She is currently the Chief Research Scientist in Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ( CSIRO ) ( Oceans and Atmosphere ) where she leads the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub .   Cleugh 's research focuses on observing and predicting atmospheric , climate and marine systems and determining how they interact with human activities .

negative: Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change (2005 conference) In 2005, an international conference titled Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change: A Scientific Symposium on Stabilisation of Greenhouse Gases examined the link between atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration and global warming and its effects. The conference name was derived from Article 2 of the charter for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The conference explored the possible impacts at different levels of greenhouse gas emissions and how the climate might be stabilized at a desired level. The conference took place under the United Kingdom's presidency of the G8, with the participation of around 200 "internationally renowned" scientists from 30 countries. It was chaired by Dennis Tirpak and hosted by the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Exeter, from 1 February to 3 February. The conference was one of many meetings leading up to the 2015 Paris Agreement, at which the international community agreed to limit global warming to no more than 2C in order to have a 50-50 chance of avoiding dangerous climate change. However, a 2018 published study points at a threshold at which temperatures could rise to 4 or 5 degrees through self-reinforcing feedbacks in the climate system, suggesting it is below the 2 degree temperature target.

negative: Cloud feedback Cloud feedback is the coupling between cloudiness and surface air temperature where a surface air temperature change leads to a change in clouds , which could then amplify or diminish the initial temperature perturbation . Cloud feedbacks can affect the magnitude of internally generated climate variability or they can affect the magnitude of climate change resulting from external radiative forcings .   Global warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds . Seen from below , clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface , and so exert a warming effect ; seen from above , clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space , and so exert a cooling effect . Cloud representations vary among global climate models , and small changes in cloud cover have a large impact on the climate . Differences in planetary boundary layer cloud modeling schemes can lead to large differences in derived values of climate sensitivity . A model that decreases boundary layer clouds in response to global warming has a climate sensitivity twice that of a model that does not include this feedback . However , satellite data show that cloud optical thickness actually increases with increasing temperature . Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud ; details that are difficult to represent in climate models .

negative: Hurricane Alley Hurricane Alley is an area of warm water in the Atlantic Ocean stretching from the west coast of northern Africa to the east coast of Central America and Gulf Coast of the Southern United States . Many hurricanes form within this area . The sea surface temperature of the Atlantic in Hurricane Alley has been steadily growing warmer over the past decades , which most climate scientists believe accounts for the increase in hurricane activity .

negative: Kari Norgaard Kari Marie Norgaard is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon , a post she has held since 2011 . She is known for her research into climate change denial and the politics of global warming .

negative: Climate of the British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago off the northwest coast of Europe , consisting of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland along with smaller surrounding ones . Its position allows dry continental air from Eurasia to meet wetter air from the Atlantic Ocean , which causes the weather to be highly variable , often changing many times during the day . It is defined as a temperate oceanic climate , or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system . It is significantly warmer than other regions on the same latitude , due to the warmth provided by the Gulf Stream . Temperatures do not often switch between great extremes , with warm summers and mild winters .

negative: Climate change in Pakistan Pakistan makes a tiny contribution to total global greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions , less than 1 % ( among the lowest in the world ) but it is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change , and it has very low technical and financial capacity to adapt to its adverse impacts .  The effects of climate change and global warming on Pakistan , the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas , threatening the volumetric flow rate of many of the most important rivers of Pakistan . In Pakistan , such effects are projected to impact millions of lives . As a result of ongoing climate change , the climate of Pakistan has become increasingly volatile over the past several decades ; this trend is expected to continue .   Climate Change Mitigation Pakistan 's greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions are low compared to international standards . In 2008 Pakistan 's total GHG emissions were 310 million tons of CO2 equivalent . These comprised : CO2 54 % ; Methane ( CH4 ) 36 % ; Nitrous Oxide ( N2O ) 9 % ; Carbon Monoxide ( CO ) 0.7 % ; and Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds 0.3 % . ( Source : National GHG inventory 2008 ) . The energy sector is the single largest source of GHG emission in Pakistan ; it accounts for nearly 51 % of these emissions and is followed by the agriculture sector ( 39 % ) , industrial processes ( 6 % ) , land use , land use change and forestry ( LULUCF ) ( 3 % ) emissions and waste ( 1 % ) ( Source : National GHG inventory 2008 ) . As such , the most important targets for mitigation efforts focused on reduction of GHG emissions are the energy and agriculture sectors . In the energy sector , integration of climate change and energy policy objectives is particularly important as today 's investment will `` lock in '' the infrastructure , fuel and technologies to be used for decades to come . Similarly , the building and transport infrastructure put in place today should meet the design needs of the future . Therefore , greater attention must be paid to energy efficiency requirements in building codes and long-term transport planning .


query: warmer oceans have also begun to destabilize glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica

positive: Retreat of glaciers since 1850 The retreat of glaciers since 1850 affects the availability of fresh water for irrigation and domestic use , mountain recreation , animals and plants that depend on glacier-melt , and , in the longer term , the level of the oceans . Studied by glaciologists , the temporal coincidence of glacier retreat with the measured increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases is often cited as an evidentiary underpinning of global warming . Mid-latitude mountain ranges such as the Himalayas , Alps , Rocky Mountains , Cascade Range , and the southern Andes , as well as isolated tropical summits such as Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa , are showing some of the largest proportionate glacial losses .   Glacier mass balance is the key determinant of the health of a glacier . If the amount of frozen precipitation in the accumulation zone exceeds the quantity of glacial ice lost due to melting or in the ablation zone a glacier will advance ; if the accumulation is less than the ablation , the glacier will retreat . Glaciers in retreat will have negative mass balances , and if they do not find an equilibrium between accumulation and ablation , will eventually disappear .   The Little Ice Age was a period from about 1550 to 1850 when the world experienced relatively cooler temperatures compared to the present . Subsequently , until about 1940 , glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed substantially . Glacial retreat slowed and even reversed temporarily , in many cases , between 1950 and 1980 as global temperatures cooled slightly . Since 1980 , a significant global warming has led to glacier retreat becoming increasingly rapid and ubiquitous , so much so that some glaciers have disappeared altogether , and the existences of many of the remaining glaciers are threatened . In locations such as the Andes of South America and Himalayas in Asia , the demise of glaciers in these regions has the potential to affect water supplies in those areas .   The retreat of mountain glaciers , notably in western North America , Asia , the Alps and tropical and subtropical regions of South America , Africa and Indonesia , provide evidence for the rise in global temperatures since the late 19th century . The acceleration of the rate of retreat since 1995 of key outlet glaciers of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets may foreshadow a rise in sea level , which would affect coastal regions .

positive: Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly .   Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. .  Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century .   Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems .

negative: Polar see-saw The polar see-saw ( also : Bipolar seesaw ) is the phenomenon that temperature changes in the northern and southern hemispheres may be out of phase . The theory ( or hypothesis ) states that large changes , f.e. when the glaciers are intensely growing or depleting , in the formation of ocean bottom water in both poles take a long time to exert their effect in the other hemisphere . Estimates of the period of delay vary , one typical estimate is 1500 years . This is usually studied in the context of ice-cores taken from Antarctica and Greenland .

negative: Petermann Glacier Petermann Glacier is a large glacier located in North-West Greenland to the east of Nares Strait . It connects the Greenland ice sheet to the Arctic Ocean near 81 degrees north latitude . It is named after the German cartographer August Heinrich Petermann

negative: Glacier morphology Glacier morphology , or the form a glacier takes , is influenced by temperature , precipitation , topography , and other factors . Types of glaciers range from massive ice sheets , such as the Greenland ice sheet or those in Antarctica , to small cirque glaciers perched on a mountain . Glaciers types can be grouped into two main categories , based on whether ice flow is constrained by the underlying bedrock topography .

negative: 35th meridian west The meridian 35 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .

negative: Bredebrae Bredebrae ( Bredebræ `` Broad Glacier '' ) , sometimes also known as `` Brede Glacier '' , is a large glacier in northeastern Greenland . It has its terminus on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet .

negative: MS Fram MS Fram is a passenger vessel operated by the Norway-based Hurtigruten Group . The ship is named after the original Fram , the ship used by explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen . The ship operates in the Arctic Ocean and around Greenland in the summer , and cruises around Antarctica at other times of the year . In December 2007 , the ship lost power and struck a glacier in Antarctica , sustaining damage to the starboard side ; the collision did not affect the ship 's seaworthiness .

negative: Mendeleyev Dmitri Mendeleev ( 1834 -- 1907 ) was a Russian chemist .   Mendeleyev ( masculine ) or Mendeleyeva ( feminine or masculine genitive ) may also refer to :  Mendeleyev Glacier , a glacier in Antarctica  Mendeleyev Ridge , a ridge in the Arctic Ocean  Mendeleyeva , a volcano on the Kuril Islands , Russia

negative: 45th meridian west The meridian 45 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   In Greenland the meridian defines the borders of Qaasuitsup and Qeqqata municipalities with the Sermersooq municipality and the North East Greenland National Park .   The 45th meridian west forms a great circle with the 135th meridian east , and it is the reference meridian for the time zone UTC-3 .

negative: 27th meridian west The meridian 27 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 27th meridian west forms a great circle with the 153rd meridian east .

negative: 53rd meridian west The meridian 53 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , Newfoundland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   In Antarctica , the meridian defines the eastern limit of Chile 's territorial claim and passes through the British and Argentinian claims - the three claims overlap . It also defines the western limit of Brazil 's unofficial claim .   The 53rd meridian west forms a great circle with the 127th meridian east .

negative: Akuliarutsip Sermerssua Akuliarutsip Sermerssua , also known as Nordenskiold Glacier , ( Nordenskiöld Gletscher ) , is a large glacier located on the east coast of Greenland .

negative: 32nd meridian west The meridian 32 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 32nd meridian west forms a great circle with the 148th meridian east .

negative: 19th meridian west The meridian 19 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , Iceland , the Atlantic Ocean , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 19th meridian west forms a great circle with the 161st meridian east .

negative: 47th meridian west The meridian 47 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 47th meridian west forms a great circle with the 133rd meridian east .

negative: Wildlife of Antarctica The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles , having to adapt to the dryness , low temperatures , and high exposure common in Antarctica . The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands , which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water . Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice . The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life , both in the water column and on the seabed .   There is relatively little diversity in Antarctica compared to much of the rest of the world . Terrestrial life is concentrated in areas near the coast . Flying birds nest on the milder shores of the Peninsula and the subantarctic islands . Eight species of penguins inhabit Antarctica and its offshore islands . They share these areas with seven pinniped species . The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is home to 10 cetaceans , many of them migratory . There are very few terrestrial invertebrates on the mainland , although the species that do live there have high population densities . High densities of invertebrates also live in the ocean , with Antarctic krill forming dense and widespread swarms during the summer . Benthic animal communities also exist around the continent .   Over 1000 fungi species have been found on and around Antarctica . Larger species are restricted to the subantarctic islands , and the majority of species discovered have been terrestrial . Plants are similarly restricted mostly to the subantarctic islands , and the western edge of the Peninsula . Some mosses and lichens however can be found even in the dry interior . Many algae are found around Antarctica , especially phytoplankton , which form the basis of many of Antarctica 's food webs .   Human activity has caused introduced species to gain a foothold in the area , threatening the native wildlife . A history of overfishing and hunting has left many species with greatly reduced numbers . Pollution , habitat destruction , and climate change pose great risks to the environment . The Antarctic Treaty System is a global treaty designed to preserve Antarctica as a place of research , and measures from this system are used to regulate human activity in Antarctica .

negative: 42nd meridian west The meridian 42 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 42nd meridian west forms a great circle with the 138th meridian east .

negative: 13th meridian west The meridian 13 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , Africa , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 13th meridian west forms a great circle with the 167th meridian east .

negative: Frederikshaab Glacier Frederikshaab Glacier is a glacier on the southwest coast of Greenland in the Sermersooq municipality . It flows from Greenland 's ice sheet and at its mouth melts into various ponds and channels that empty into Davis Strait . The nearest major town is Paamiut , roughly 110 km to the south , although some smaller settlements are closer .   Category : Glaciers of Greenland

negative: 22nd meridian west The meridian 22 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , Iceland , the Atlantic Ocean , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 22nd meridian west forms a great circle with the 158th meridian east .

negative: 44th meridian west The meridian 44 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 44th meridian west forms a great circle with the 136th meridian east .

negative: 38th meridian west The meridian 38 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , South America , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 38th meridian west forms a great circle with the 142nd meridian east .

negative: Geography of Greenland Greenland is located between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean , northeast of Canada and northwest of Iceland . The territory comprises the island of Greenland -- the largest island in the world -- and more than a hundred other smaller islands ( see alphabetic list ) . As an island , Greenland has no land boundaries and 44,087 km of coastline . A sparse population is confined to small settlements along certain sectors of the coast . Greenland possesses the world 's second largest ice sheet .   Greenland sits atop the Greenland plate , a subplate of the North American plate . The Greenland craton is made up of some of the oldest rocks on the face of the earth . The Isua greenstone belt in southwestern Greenland contains the oldest known rocks on Earth , dated at 3.7 -- 3.8 billion years old .   The vegetation is generally sparse , with the only patch of forested land being found in Nanortalik Municipality in the extreme south near Cape Farewell .   The climate is arctic to subarctic , with cool summers and cold winters . The terrain is mostly a flat but gradually sloping icecap that covers all land except for a narrow , mountainous , barren , rocky coast . The lowest elevation is sea level and the highest elevation is the summit of Gunnbjørn Fjeld , the highest point in the Arctic at 3694 m . The northernmost point of the Island of Greenland is Cape Morris Jesup , discovered by Admiral Robert Peary in 1909 . Natural resources include zinc , lead , iron ore , coal , molybdenum , gold , platinum , uranium , hydropower and fish .

negative: Jakobshavn Glacier Jakobshavn Glacier , also known as Sermeq Kujalleq ( in Greenlandic ) and the Jakobshavn Isbræ ( in Danish ) , is a large outlet glacier in West Greenland . It is located near the Greenlandic town of Ilulissat ( Jakobshavn ) and ends at the sea in the Ilulissat Icefjord .   Jakobshavn Glacier drains 6.5 % of the Greenland ice sheet and produces around 10 % of all Greenland icebergs . Some 35 billion tonnes of icebergs calve off and pass out of the fjord every year . Icebergs breaking from the glacier are often so large ( up to a kilometer in height ) that they are too tall to float down the fjord and lie stuck on the bottom of its shallower areas , sometimes for years , until they are broken up by the force of the glacier and icebergs further up the fjord . Studied for over 250 years , Jakobshavn Glacier has helped develop our understanding of climate change and icecap glaciology .   Ilulissat Icefjord ( Ilulissat Kangerlua ) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 .

negative: Mertz Glacier Mertz Glacier is a heavily crevassed glacier in George V Coast of East Antarctica . It is the source of a glacial prominence that historically has extended northward into the Southern Ocean , the Mertz Glacial Tongue . It is named in honor of the Swiss explorer Xavier Mertz .   The Mertz-Ninnis Valley is an undersea valley named in association with the Mertz Glacier and the Ninnis Glacier .

negative: 25th meridian west The meridian 25 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , Cape Verde Islands , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 25th meridian west forms a great circle with the 155th meridian east .   In Antarctica , the meridian defines the eastern limit of Argentina 's territorial claim and passes through the British claim - the two claims overlap .

negative: List of glaciers in Greenland This is a list of glaciers in Greenland . Details on the size and flow of some of the major Greenlandic glaciers are listed by Eric Rignot and Pannir Kanagaratnam ( 2006 )

negative: Starvation (glaciology) In glaciology , starvation occurs when a glacier retreats , not because of temperature increases , but due to precipitation so low that the ice flow downward into the zone of ablation exceeds the replenishment from snowfall . Eventually , the ice will move so far down that it either calves into the ocean or melts .   When starvation does occur , however , it can almost always be reversed by slight changes in precipitation , such as are brought about by mountain ranges . Thus , even if glaciers do not cover a lowland due to low precipitation , glaciation is almost certain to occur at higher elevations .

negative: Regional effects of global warming Regional effects of global warming are long-term significant changes in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region due to global warming . The world average temperature is rising due to the greenhouse effect caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases , especially carbon dioxide . When the global temperature changes , the changes in climate are not expected to be uniform across the Earth . In particular , land areas change more quickly than oceans , and northern high latitudes change more quickly than the tropics , and the margins of biome regions change faster than do their cores .   Regional effects of global warming vary in nature . Some are the result of a generalised global change , such as rising temperature , resulting in local effects , such as melting ice . In other cases , a change may be related to a change in a particular ocean current or weather system . In such cases , the regional effect may be disproportionate and will not necessarily follow the global trend . The increasing temperatures from greenhouse gases have been causing sea levels to rise for many years .   There are three major ways in which global warming will make changes to regional climate : melting or forming ice , changing the hydrological cycle ( of evaporation and precipitation ) and changing currents in the oceans and air flows in the atmosphere . The coast can also be considered a region , and will suffer severe impacts from sea level rise .

negative: Hayes Glacier (Greenland) Hayes Glacier is a tidewater glacier in the Qaasuitsup municipality , located on the northwestern shore of Greenland . It drains the Greenland ice sheet ( Sermersuaq ) southwards into Melville Bay . The glacier front is located to the east of the Tuttulikassak nunatak .

negative: Karale Glacier The Karale Glacier is one of the major glaciers in the area north of Kuummiit , Greenland .   Category : Glaciers of Greenland

negative: 30th meridian west The meridian 30 ° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean , Greenland , the Atlantic Ocean , the Southern Ocean , and Antarctica to the South Pole .   The 30th meridian west forms a great circle with the 150th meridian east , and it is the reference meridian for the time zone UTC-2 .

negative: Polar desert Polar deserts are areas with annual precipitation less than 250 mm and a mean temperature of less than 10 C during the warmest months . Polar deserts on Earth cover nearly 5,000,000 km2 and consist primarily of hard bedrock or gravel plains .   Polar deserts are one of two polar biomes : polar deserts and Arctic tundra . These biomes are located at the poles of the earth , specifically , the Arctic , northernmost North America , Europe , and Asia , and Antarctica . Polar deserts are located in the Arctic and Antarctic . Unlike the tundra that can support plant and animal life in the summer , polar deserts are barren with permanent layers of ice . However , there is evidence of life in this seemingly inhospitable environment.The thick ice contains sediments of organic and inorganic substances which create a habitable environment for microbial organisms . These organisms are closely related to cyanobacteria which have a variety of functions , particularly , fixing carbon dioxide from the melting water .   Temperature changes in polar deserts frequently cross the freezing point of water . This `` freeze-thaw '' alternation forms patterned textures on the ground , as much as 5 m in diameter ( as seen in the picture on the right ) .   Most of the interior of Antarctica is polar desert , despite the thick ice cover . Conversely , the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica , although they have had no ice for thousands of years due to katabatic wind , are not necessarily polar desert .   Polar deserts are relatively common during ice ages , as ice ages tend to be dry .   Climate scientists have voiced concerns about the effects of global warming to the ice poles in these polar biomes .