Climate Change Fingerprint

Fingerprint transparent


Many people think about climate change almost exclusively as a matter of a changing average global temperature. The overwhelming focus on a rising average global temperature as the primary means of understanding climate change, however, is misleading. Average global temperature is just one of the many variables that scientists are tracking as part of the “climate change fingerprint."

Looking at the entire climate change fingerprint generates a nuch more reliable picture of what’s already happening, and what's likely to happen in the future. Through Your Climate Change PhD you can come rapidly up to speed and then track changes in the fingerprint variables listed below:

  • Antarctic Ice Impacts
  • Arctic Ice Decline
  • Average Nighttime Temperatures
  • Average Temperature Change
  • Changing Growing Seasons
  • Cloud Cover and Type
  • Coral Reef Impacts
  • Extreme Precipitation
  • Glacier Ice Loss
  • Heating vs. Cooling Degree Days
  • High vs. Low Temperature Records
  • Increased Methane Emissions
  • Melting Permafrost
  • More Droughts
  • More Flooding
  • More Heatwaves
  • More Wildfires
  • Ocean Acidification
  • Ocean Current Changes
  • Ocean Heat
  • Sea Level Rise
  • Shifting Disease Ranges
  • Shifting Species Ranges
  • Snow vs. Rain
  • Species Extinctions
  • Storm Frequency and Strength
  • Stream Flows and Temperatures

In each case you’ll gain insight into the covered topics, and be hyperlinked to curated knowledge collections in the Climate Web itself.