Yes, it is!

The effects of global warming could be very bad news for living things on Earth—plants, animals, and people—if we ignore it.

Why? Warm weather isn’t so bad, is it?

Shorts and sandals, swimming, less snow to shovel in the winter... maybe that sounds pretty good. Besides, will we even notice a change of just a few degrees? The problem is that global warming isn’t just a small rise in temperature. Climate is the average temperature around the world, so an increase of a few degrees on average could mean a much bigger increase in some places. And temperature is connected to many other parts of the climate system. That means many other dangerous things are likely to happen as the temperature rises. For instance:

• Warmer air means warmer oceans. Warmer oceans make stronger hurricanes.
• Less rain is predicted for some areas. That could lead to droughts, which would mean less water for people to drink and to grow food.
• Drier conditions can also lead to more forest fires.
• Melting glaciers and warmer water could raise sea level, flooding coasts.
• Wildlife that is adapted to a certain habitat may not be able to survive as the habitat changes.