Climate Q&A
When it comes to climate change, the questions people have are limitless. Some of these questions are scientific, some are economic, some are political, and some are moral. Some questions have answers today, and some won't be answerable for decades.
In this column, the Earth Observatory offer answers to some of the questions people ask us about the science of global warming and climate change. We have also included some questions and answers about climate science topics that people often misunderstand. All posts are written or reviewed by Earth and climate scientists.
We choose questions based on several factors, including how frequently we receive them, how relevant they are to NASA Earth science research, and how unique they are. We don't intend for this column to provide a comprehensive picture of climate science; for a complete review of global warming and climate change, please see our Global Warming Factsheet.
Browse all questions
- Are the ozone hole and global warming related?
- What can we do about global warming?
- What if global warming isn’t as severe as predicted?
- Why is global warming a problem?
- Has the Sun been more active in recent decades, and could it be responsible for some global warming?
- If Earth has warmed and cooled throughout history, what makes scientists think that humans are causing global warming now?
- How do scientists know that Mauna Loa’s volcanic emissions don’t affect the carbon dioxide data collected there?
- Do satellite observations of atmospheric temperatures agree with surface-based observations and model predictions?
- What does NASA have to do with global warming?
- Are there natural processes that can amplify or limit global warming?
- If we immediately stopped emitting greenhouses gases, would global warming stop?
- If we stabilized greenhouse gas emissions at today’s rates, would global warming stop?
