Key Facts and Statistics About Climate Change on Earth

Last Updated on June 12, 2020 CareOurEarth

Nowadays, global warming has become a major environmental concern that has drawn public attention worldwide. To better understand the extent of the issue, a summary of key facts and statistics about climate change, complied from international reports, is present here.

1. 2018 was the hottest year in Europe and the Middle East on record and the fourth warmest year on Earth since 1850.
2. The average temperature in 2018 was around 1.16 °C (2.09 °F) above the pre-industrial baseline (the average during 1850-1900), just slightly lower than that in 2016 (the hottest), 2017 (2^nd hottest), and 2015.
3. Compared to the pre-industrial levels, the land average temperature in 2018 increased around 1.53 °C (2.75 °F), and the ocean surface temperature increased around 0.88 °C (1.58 °F).
4. All but one of the 10 warmest years on record occurred after 2005.
5. On average, global temperature is rising at a rate of around 0.2°C per decade.
6. Since 1900, global average sea level has risen 16-21 cm.
7. Over the past two decades, average global sea level was rising at a rate of more than 3 mm per year or 3 cm per decade.
8. Since 1980, greenhouse gas emissions have been doubled, raising average global temperature by at least 0.7°C.
9. Around 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions are from transport and food consumption related to tourism.
10. Annually, 5.6 gigatons of CO₂ emissions are sequestered in marine and terrestrial ecosystems – equivalent to 60% of global fossil CO₂ emissions.
11. Since 1960, global fossil CO₂ emissions have increased by 270% (from 9.8 GtCO2 in 1960 to 37.1 GtCO2 in 2018).
12. Since 1960, annual fossil CO₂ emissions in both China and India have increased by around 10 times, the fastest increases in the world.
13. Since 2007, China has become the largest contributor to global fossil CO₂ emissions.
14. In 2017, China covered 27% of global CO₂ emissions, much more than that shared by United States (15%), EU28(10%), and India(7%).
15. The amount of annual fossil CO₂ emissions per capita in USA (16.2 tons) is 130% more than that in Europe (7.0 tons) and China (7.0 tons).
16. Historically, both USA and European Union contributed to almost half of global cumulative fossil CO₂ emissions (USA 25%, EU28 22%).
17. The global CO₂ concentration in atmosphere had increased from ~300ppm in 1960 to 405ppm in 2017 (up 33%).
18. In December 2015, representatives from 195 countries come to a Paris Agreement aiming to limit global warming to 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels.
19. In October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report further limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
20. The consequences of 1°C of global warming, such as extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic Sea ice, have been witnessed in some areas in recent years.
21. Currently, the average global temperature is on the path to an increase of more than 3.0°C by 2050 if no ambitious mitigation actions are implemented or the mitigation actions are ineffective.