Explore a series of interdisciplinary explainers on climate science

Discover trends in Earth's climate system: What are indicators of climate change?

A comprehensive deep dive tracking components of the climate system over time, such as temperature, sea level, sea ice amounts, ocean heat, greenhouse gases, and more (w/charts and graphs).

The weather time machine

A fun interactive on how old ships’ logs are giving scientists new insights into the past and future of the Earth’s changing climate (w/maps and pictures).

Explore a simulation of the greenhouse effect

Investigate how cloud cover, surface albedo—a measure of a surface's reflectiveness—greenhouse concentrations, and atmospheric layers affect the energy balance on a simulated planet. Using either the wave or particle models of light, users can also explore how changes in solar intensity affect planetary surface temperature.

The field of attribution science seeks to determine whether specific phenomena, such as melting glaciers, droughts, and hurricanes, are driven by Earth's natural climate cycles or by human-caused climate change.

View an illustrative guide to climate change for kids

While climates have changed throughout Earth's history, they are now changing faster than usual, driven by the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases, which trap more of the sun's radiation.

Explore an interactive visualization of greenhouse gas emissions from 745 million sources worldwide.

A map of extreme weather events and their links to climate change

To track how the evidence on this fast-moving topic is stacking up, Carbon Brief has mapped every extreme-weather attribution study published to date. Read more about the findings from the comprehensive analysis.

Explore Earth's future climate under different levels of warming

An incredible interactive project showing how global warming is projected to affect the world, from temperatures to rainfall, droughts and flooding, and more.

Climate science 101: climate change, its impacts, and potential solutions

How do we know that this warming is happening and that it’s caused by humans? How strong is the evidence? What risks can we expect and what can we do about them?

How is the climate like baseball?

A two-minute video taking a lighthearted look at an unexpected analogy, explaining why some people call carbon dioxide (and the other greenhouse gases) the steroids of the climate system.

Explore a gallery of space-based images and animations of Earth

This collection compiles shots of well-known locations, such as US national parks, and natural features, including aurora borealis and fall foliage, to provide a high-level view of Earth's surface.

Four video explainers on quantum fundamentals

Ready to level up your working knowledge of quantum mechanics? Check out these four TED-Ed Lessons written by Chad Orzel, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Union College

View the 55 ECVs used to describe Earth's atmospheric conditions

Essential climate variables include physical, chemical, and biological variables that meaningfully contribute to Earth's climate and how it changes with time. Many of these variables influence one another through feedback mechanisms across Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and geosphere.

Global climate models simulate Earth system interactions and how human activity impacts climate

By splitting the planet into tiny 3D grid cells, supercomputers can run thousands of equations for each cell to determine the movement of energy, moisture, and other elements across Earth. The equations can also incorporate greenhouse gases to determine how humans affect the climate.

Travel through deep time with this interactive Earth

Explore key moments in Earth’s transformative history as continents drift and climate fluctuates over 4.6 billion years. The Smithsonian presents a series of interactive snapshots of the earth. From its toddler years during the Hadean period, when its surface was mostly molten, to the mostly unidentifiable landmasses of the future earth, 100 million years from now.

Explore Earth's atmosphere and what its layers contain in this interactive adventure

In this interactive, users can move from Earth's surface up through its atmosphere, exploring the natural phenomena found in each layer, including atmospheric rivers, auroras, and meteor showers. Artificial structures such as weather balloons and the International Space Station can also be found on the adventure.

What are climate models?

Climate modeling what is a global climate model? What are their uses? Why do we believe them? What do they agree on? Why do they disagree? How do we improve them?

Scientists use climate proxies—physical, chemical, and biological materials preserved in sediments, ice, and fossils—to infer historical climate data and determine past climate patterns.

Climate data is monitored globally using tools from satellites to backyard gauges

Scientists use satellites, balloons, ocean buoys, and land-based instruments to track climate variables like temperature, precipitation, and wind. These tools gather data from deep ocean waters to the upper atmosphere.

Climate models use complex equations and supercomputers to predict future climate

The equations apply the laws of thermodynamics, fluid motion, and radiative transfer to a 3D grid along Earth's surface. After solving them for each cell in the grid over a time interval, the results carry over to neighboring cells, and the process repeats into the future.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Explore an interactive map of the unified theories of everything

This interactive concisely describes many highly complex theories ranging from quantum gravity and black holes to dark matter and energy. Supplementary resources, key questions, and possible solutions accompany each description. As of 2026, no developed theory provides an accepted explanation of all observed phenomena in the universe at all scales.

The best photos of scientists at work in 2025

The winners of Nature's 2025 photo competition capture the essence of scientific fieldwork in diverse and challenging environments. From a biologist battling waves for whale research to ice core drilling in polar night conditions, this gallery details the research being each winning photo.

Science is rarely a linear progression of understanding

Particularly at the frontiers, investigations conducted based on established knowledge can provide unexpected results. This opens the door to revising existing models, inspiring new lines of research, and ultimately leading to better future comprehension. For instance, experiments on the speed of light and the expansion of the universe yielded then-confusing data that led to revolutionary insights.

Climate change is influencing the spread of disease

Rising temperatures and water levels are forcing animals and pathogens beyond their typical boundaries. This article and its data visualizations explore the proliferation of climate-driven diseases.

Watch a time-lapse from space of photosynthesis across Earth

Using NASA satellite imagery, carbon absorption can be tracked and serves as a proxy for photosynthetic activity on land and in the oceans. Over the course of a year, seasonal changes can be observed as plants become dormant in the fall and active again in the spring.

Climatologists use past data and advanced models to forecast future climate trends

Unlike meteorology, which focuses on weather forecasting over several days, climatology identifies trends in data over periods of 30 or more years. This data can go back millions of years and help refine models to forecast centuries into the future.

The science on the connections between extreme weather and climate change

The new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on the science of climate change lands in the aftermath of a series of deadly extreme weather events around the world.

The greenhouse effect was discovered by analyzing Earth's temperature

Using mathematical techniques developed to analyze heat transfer, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier showed that Earth should be significantly cooler if solar radiation were the only contributor to its surface temperature. By considering that the atmosphere could amplify the sun's warming effect, he formulated what became known as the greenhouse effect.

Explore a timeline of research from the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research

Since its founding in 1960, the group of research institutions has pooled together observational and computational resources to make significant advancements in the atmospheric sciences. These include the discovery of coupled atmospheric systems, the development of increasingly accurate climate models, and the creation of the National Scientific Balloon Facility.

How glaciers melt

Greenland and Antarctica are home to most of the world's glacial ice, including its only two ice sheets, making them areas of particular interest to scientists. Watch this three-minute video to learn why understanding them is not just interesting, but crucial to our near-term adaptability and our long term survival in a changing world.

Watch a demonstration of the greenhouse effect with carbon dioxide, where thermal energy is trapped by the gas within a container, causing the temperature to increase.

Explore an interactive timeline of Earth's 4.5-billion-year history to visualize shifting landmasses and oceans, view the locations of significant asteroid impacts, and learn about major geological and biological events.

Explore hindcasting on climate models published since 1972

Hindcasting tests model forecasts against observational data to determine their accuracy. In this interactive, you can learn about the differences between eight climate models and evaluate them against available climate data.

Grasp the earth's orbit around the sun with this interactive

See why seasons exist with this interactive simulator. Toggle between different views of the earth in relation to the sun and watch as the earth's axis causes the sun to shine at different angles throughout the year, causing the weather to fluctuate and more. This simulator clarifies a process many take for granted.

The science of springtime, 101

Dive into the basics on springtime including the astronomy that brings it about, natural signs of spring's arrival, and some of the cultural approaches to the season.

Explore a gallery of astronomical images curated by the European Space Agency, which includes illustrations and images of aurorae, planets, stars, galaxies, stellar nurseries, exoplanets, and black holes.

Why David Attenborough was skeptical about global warming before bringing attention to it

Believing he was "experiencing the untouched natural world" in his early documentary series, Attenborough has admitted that many of his assumptions about human action were incorrect. It was not until attending a 2004 lecture on greenhouse gases and global temperatures that he became convinced of the science.

Accurate climate models incorporate calculus to account for complex feedback loops

The simplest models assume uniformity across the Earth, with incoming energy from the sun being offset by the planet's albedo, or reflectiveness, which prevents the radiation from being fully absorbed. Incorporating elements such as atmospheric layers, latitude bands, geographic variability, and emissivity yields coupled differential equations quantifying Earth's interconnected systems.

The ingredients that make up severe weather

A seven-minute video illustrating how a storm is made. These factors—moisture, instability, lift, and shear—are explained through a series of data sets and creative, descriptive diagrams.

Hear firsthand how scientists and policymakers saved the ozone layer

In this episode, atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon and Protocol architect Stephen Andersen recount how scientific discovery, diplomacy, and public pressure drove the Montreal Protocol—and share lessons for tackling climate change.

Explore how temperatures compare to historical averages in cities worldwide with this interactive global monitor.

How Earth's 'greenhouse effect' works

The so-called "greenhouse effect," where various gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun, is a crucial factor in our planet's ability to sustain life. It's also pivotal in discussions over humanity's impact on changes in the Earth's...

Learn all about different types of extreme weather

Find out in more detail about different types of extreme weather, from flooding to thunderstorms, from tropical cyclones to sandstorms, and more (w/ helpful videos).

What's the difference between weather and climate?

A five-minute TedEd video exploring the differences between weather and climate – what they are, how we predict them, and what those predictions can tell us.

Watch a visualization of how Earth's oceans impact its atmosphere, weather, and climate.

Explore an interactive global weather map, with overlays depicting real-time data on temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and pressure, which enable the tracking and monitoring of extreme weather events.

Rivers in the sky

A short introduction to atmospheric rivers, including a handy illustration on the science behind them, the phenomena that help transport water vapor from the tropics across the globe.

Clouds' subtle climate effects require significant computational power to simulate

Responsible for reflecting sunlight and preventing thermal energy from entering the Earth system while also trapping energy and keeping it in the system, clouds are understood to substantially influence climate predictions. Because even supercomputers struggle to accurately model their dynamic behavior, researchers have used AI to indirectly incorporate clouds into climate models.

The Arctic is greening from rising temperatures

This one-minute video summarizes a new study that used satellite data to look at plant life across the entire Arctic area for the first time. It found that from 1985 to 2016, 38% of the areas studied—including parts of Alaska, Canada, and...