On June 20, 2020, the town of Verkhoyansk, Russia, reached a scorching 38°C (100°F). It was the hottest temperature ever recorded inside the Arctic Circle—the area surrounding the North Pole. “That’s a statistical anomaly,” says Jessica McCarty, a geographer at Miami University in Ohio. The temperature was way outside the normal range, about 20 degrees Fahrenheit above the average high for the region at this time of year. Scientists say this incident is just one more sign of how climate change is affecting Earth.
Average global temperatures have been steadily rising since a global increase in manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. For more than two centuries, people have been burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas to power homes, cars, and factories. This created a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun, which warms the entire planet.
Extreme weather, including more frequent and intense storms and heat waves, is happening all over the globe. Rising temperatures are causing ice caps at the North and South poles to melt, too. The meltwater pours into the ocean, while higher temperatures heat the seawater, which makes it expand. The increased volume is causing sea levels to rise and flood coastal areas.
To fight climate change, experts say, people, industries, and governments need to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by switching to sources of renewable energy, such as solar and wind power.