HS-ESS3-5

Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.

  1. Oceans

    Polar bears swim for days as sea ice retreats

    Melting sea ice is forcing polar bears to swim long distances — up to nine days in one case. Such long treks may be more than the bears can handle.

    By
  2. Chemistry

    Particles in air help fatten clouds’ water droplets

    Making their own clouds has shown scientists how the fattest water droplets form. Understanding this could lead to better forecasts of climate change.

    By
  3. Climate

    Concerns about Earth’s fever

    Burning fossil fuels is causing the planet to heat up, causing weather patterns to change, sea levels to rise and diseases to spread.

    By
  4. Climate

    Explainer: How scientists know Earth is warming

    Scientists can calculate global temperatures, both present and past. Their findings show that the planet is rapidly heating up.

    By
  5. Fossils

    Clues to the Great Dying

    Millions of years ago, nearly all life on Earth vanished. Scientists are now starting to figure out what happened.

    By
  6. Oceans

    Explainer: What is a tsunami?

    Earthquakes and landslides can create huge waves that travel across oceans.

    By
  7. Climate

    Warming’s role in extreme weather

    Extremes in temperature and precipitation will be more common as global temperatures rise. Human-led climate change is largely to blame, a new study finds.

    By
  8. Environment

    Arctic warming bolsters summer heat

    Rapid warming in the Arctic is sapping summer storms of their power to cool. That worsens heat waves across the Northern Hemisphere.

    By
  9. Climate

    Scientists confirm ‘greenhouse’ effect of human’s CO2

    Government scientists link directly, for the first time, a boost in warming at Earth’s surface to increasing levels of carbon dioxide. Much of that gas has been released by human activities, such as coal burning and gas-burning vehicles.

    By
  10. Climate

    Fast sea level rise is a very recent change

    Sea levels have been rising for more than a century. But that rise is now speeding up. That suggests that what is driving the rise — climate change — also has increased dramatically in recent years.

    By
  11. Climate

    Lightning strikes will surge with climate change

    Warming temperatures will lead to 50 percent more lightning strikes across the 48 U.S. states in the next century, researchers report. That increase could lead to more warming, more fires and even more deaths.

    By
  12. Climate

    World leaders call for action on climate change

    This week, the presidents of China and the United States pledged to take aggressive action on the release of greenhouse gases to head off dire worldwide climate effects.

    By