Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events
Human activities are causing world temperatures to rise, posing serious threats to people and nature.
Things are likely to worsen in the coming decades, but scientists argue urgent action can still limit the worst effects of climate change.
Climate change is the long-term shift in the Earth's average temperatures and weather conditions.
The world has been rapidly warming for around a century, causing weather patterns to change.
Since the ١٩٨٠s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one, the Met Office says.
٢٠٢٤ was Earth's hottest year on record , with climate change mainly responsible for the high temperatures.
It was also the first calendar year to surpass ١.٥C of warming compared to "pre-industrial" levels of the late ١٨٠٠s, according to the Copernicus climate service , external .
Temperatures remained high in ٢٠٢٥ , despite a slight cooling from a natural weather pattern called La Niña.
The opposite El Niño pattern , combined with climate change, makes it likely that ٢٠٢٦ will also rank among the hottest years ever recorded.
The climate has changed naturally throughout the Earth's history.
But natural causes cannot explain the particularly rapid warming seen over the last century, according to the UN's climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This has been without doubt caused by human activities, especially the widespread use of fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - in homes, factories and transport systems.
When fossil fuels burn, they release greenhouse gases - mostly carbon dioxide (CO٢). This CO٢ acts like a blanket, trapping extra energy in the atmosphere near the Earth's surface. This causes the planet to heat up.
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution - when humans began burning large amounts of fossil fuels - the level of CO٢ in the atmosphere has risen by more than ٥٠% .
The CO٢ released from burning fossil fuels , external has a distinctive chemical fingerprint. This matches the type of CO٢ increasingly found in the atmosphere.
more frequent and intense extreme weather , such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall
rapid melting of glaciers and ice sheets, contributing to sea-level rises
warmer oceans , which can fuel more intense storms and harm sea life
These changes are already having serious consequences for people and economies around the world.
In August ٢٠٢٦, the partial collapse of a glacier caused an avalanche of ice and rock to descend on Nepal and Tibet
Flash floods in Nepal killed more than ١,٤٠٠ people in August ٢٠٢٦. Nepal's Finance Minister, Swarnim Wagle, said it could cost up to a tenth of the economy to rebuild.
Climate change increased the chances of the glacier collapse which triggered the flood, World Weather Attribution group scientists said.
The more the world warms, the worse the impacts of climate change become.
Nearly ٢٠٠ countries pledged to try to limit global warming to ١.٥C above pre-industrial levels in the ٢٠١٥ Paris agreement .
That target is generally understood to mean an average annual increase of ١.٥C over ٢٠ years rather than a one-off rise in a single year.
Long-term warming of ١.٥C would bring serious consequences for many populations.
But an increase of ٢C or more would bring even greater impacts, the IPCC says.
زيادة المخاطر على الأمن الغذائي في بعض المناطق بسبب الطقس الأكثر تطرفًا
فرص أكبر لانتشار بعض الأمراض الحساسة للمناخ، مثل حمى الضنك
The call to restrict temperature rise to ١.٥C was partly designed to avoid crossing so-called "tipping points".
It is not clear exactly where they sit, but once these thresholds are passed, changes could accelerate and become irreversible.
قد تشمل هذه انهيار الغطاء الجليدي في غرينلاند، أو التيارات الدافئة في المحيط الأطلسي، أو المزيد من فقدان غابات الأمازون المطيرة.
The Earth's poles are especially vulnerable to rising temperatures
About ٣.٣ to ٣.٦ billion people are highly vulnerable to climate change, the IPCC says.
People living in poorer countries are expected to suffer most as they have fewer resources to adapt.
This has led to questions about fairness , external , because these places have typically only been responsible for a small percentage of greenhouse gas emissions.
However, knock-on impacts could be felt over wide areas. For example, crop failures linked to extreme weather could raise food prices globally.
Reaching net zero CO٢ emissions is essential to limit global warming, the IPCC says.
This means reducing emissions as much as possible and actively removing any remaining emissions from the atmosphere.
Most countries have, or are considering, net zero targets , external .
There has been encouraging progress in some areas, such as renewable energy and electric vehicles.
But humanity's CO٢ emissions are still at record highs , causing long-term warming to reach ١.٤C in ٢٠٢٥.
The latest UN Emissions Gap Report , external said the ١.٥C limit was likely to be breached in the coming years.
A return to ١.٥C by ٢١٠٠ was possible, but it would require "urgent and stringent cuts to greenhouse emissions", the report added.
Otherwise, global warming could reach nearly ٣C by the end of the century, the UN said.
World leaders meet every year to discuss their climate commitments.
In ٢٠٢٥, the COP٣٠ climate conference ended without any new agreements on fossil fuels or deforestation in the final deal.
Countries had previously agreed on the need to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems" at the COP٢٨ talks in ٢٠٢٣.
At COP٢٩ in ٢٠٢٤, richer countries committed to giving developing nations at least $٣٠٠bn (£٢٢٣bn) a year by ٢٠٣٥ to help them tackle climate change. But this is far less than poorer countries say they need.
Governments are gathering in Turkey for the next round of talks, COP٣١ , in November ٢٠٢٦.
Major changes need to come from governments and businesses, but individuals can help through actions like:
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