The difference between global warming and climate change

Though commonplace, the phrases “global warming” and “climate change” are often confused, misunderstood, or used interchangeably despite their distinct definitions.

Global warming describes the planet’s surface temperature increase, which humans have primarily contributed to by burning fossil fuels. This global warming is an element of climate change, which describes long-term changes in regional or global climate, such as rainfall, wind and temperature.

Since the two processes are linked, and one is the result of the other, it is unsurprising that people often fail to understand the difference between climate change and global warming.

What is Global warming?

Global warming became prominent in the media in the 1980s. However, scientists coined the term a decade or more earlier in response to growing evidence of the damage pollutants—particularly chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), commonly used in aerosols and refrigerants—had on the Earth’s ozone layer.

The Earth’s surface heats during the day as rays from the sun strike it. At night, the sun's energy is radiated back into space, theoretically allowing the planet's surface to cool and the temperature to remain at an optimum level. 

The increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere—such as carbon dioxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons—traps heat radiating from the Earth’s surface. This process creates a gaseous barrier around the planet, preventing heat from escaping into space and effectively warming the Earth.

The increase over decades of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, combined with factors such as the orbit of the Earth and changes in the sun's energy output, has contributed significantly to heat retention at the planet's surface level, causing the Earth's temperature to rise.

The Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by approximately 1.1°C (1.9°F) since 1880. While this increase may seem minor, even a tiny shift in temperature can have profound and far-reaching effects on the planet’s climate. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) warns that exceeding 1.5°C of warming would lead to catastrophic consequences, including more frequent and severe heat waves, rising sea levels that threaten coastal communities, loss of biodiversity, and widespread disruption to food and water supplies.

What is Climate change?

The differences between climate change and global warming can be ambiguous to some, partly because rising temperatures directly contribute to shifts in climate, often observed as extreme weather events.

“Weather” refers to specific atmospheric conditions at a particular moment—such as describing a Monday morning as “cloudy with light rain.” In contrast, climate refers to the average atmospheric conditions over an extended period, typically thirty years or more.

While weather can change within hours, climate evolves much more slowly, requiring decades of observation to identify meaningful trends. Understanding these long-term changes is essential for accurately assessing climate patterns.

Climates can also vary on regional and global scales. To confirm climate change, at least one climatic variable—such as rainfall, wind patterns, or temperature—must show consistent fluctuations over an extended period, whether in a specific region or across the entire planet.

For example, a prolonged increase in rainfall over several decades in a previously arid region of Australasia would be classified as climate change, even if climatic conditions in other parts of the world remained relatively stable during the same period.

Climate change sceptics often argue that the Earth’s climate is constantly changing and that extreme weather events have occurred throughout history. While this is partly true—natural factors like tectonic plate movements, volcanic eruptions, and variations in Earth’s orbit can influence the climate—these changes are typically gradual, occurring over thousands or even millions of years.

In contrast, the rapid rise in global temperatures over the past few decades is unprecedented. Warming periods, such as the end of the last ice age, have occurred over millennia. Yet since the late 19th century, Earth’s surface temperature has risen by approximately 1.1°C, with much of this increase occurring in the last fifty years. This rapid warming far exceeds what could be expected from natural causes alone.

The current global warming trend has had far-reaching consequences for our climate. The melting polar glaciers, more frequent and intense tropical storms, surging summer temperatures, and prolonged droughts in the Global South can all be traced to the dramatic rise in the Earth’s surface temperature.

While natural factors can sometimes contribute to climate change, scientists overwhelmingly agree that human activity—primarily burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial emissions—has been almost entirely responsible for global warming over the past 170 years. The speed and magnitude of this warming are clear indicators that it is not part of the Earth’s natural climate variability.

Global warming—the rise in the Earth’s average surface temperature due to greenhouse gases—is the driving force behind climate change. If global warming is the cause, climate change is the effect: the long-term shifts in weather patterns that unfold over decades, altering climates regionally and globally.

This distinction is not just academic. Global warming is accelerating a potentially catastrophic transformation in the world’s climates, threatening ecosystems, economies, and the survival of communities across the planet. The stakes are higher than ever, demanding urgent action to curb emissions and mitigate its devastating impacts.