climate change
noun
: significant and long-lasting change in the Earth's climate and weather patterns
The half-tonne … turtles were thought to have died out 30,000 to 40,000 years ago because of climate change.—
New Scientist
New Scientist
especially, in current use
: such change associated with global warming
Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change are renewed among scientists and the public with every new report about the possibility of melting icecaps and rising temperatures. —Randy Showstack
Randy Showstack Drought is a paleontological fact in the American West, but the latest desiccations have a new signature, and my region's climatologists, hydrologists, foresters, and water managers are nearly unanimous in their conviction that what we are seeing now is climate change, the anthropogenic kind, a consequence of too much CO2 and other greenhouse gases. —Kenneth Brower
Kenneth Brower Examples of climate change in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Past research in the Arctic has identified tens of thousands of methane seeps -- many of them linked to climate change impacts and the degradation of cryospheric caps, such as glacial ice, permafrost and gas hydrates, the authors said.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2025
That increase came as Thailand also saw heavy rainfall amid its monsoon season, as well as extreme weather that has been exacerbated by climate change.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
At the other end of the world, in the Arctic, increased underground methane release has been linked to climate change impacts, Seabrook said, including warmer temperatures, shifts in sea level and the continued, slow rise of land after the glaciers melted in the last Ice Age.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
The man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire on New Year's Day in Southern California frequently made anti-Trump social media posts and shared how global warming was causing climate change.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for climate change
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Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2025
That increase came as Thailand also saw heavy rainfall amid its monsoon season, as well as extreme weather that has been exacerbated by climate change.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 10 Oct. 2025
At the other end of the world, in the Arctic, increased underground methane release has been linked to climate change impacts, Seabrook said, including warmer temperatures, shifts in sea level and the continued, slow rise of land after the glaciers melted in the last Ice Age.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2025
The man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire on New Year's Day in Southern California frequently made anti-Trump social media posts and shared how global warming was causing climate change.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for climate change
Cite this Entry
“Climate change.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/climate%20change. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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