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
The risk to coffee production from climate change has some researchers trying to develop more climate-resistant varieties of coffee.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
Environmental advocates question the need for expanding fossil fuel resources a time when greenhouse gases from those fuels are worsening climate change.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 25 Oct. 2025
As concerns mount about the environmental impacts of AI data centers, the Bezos awards aims to scale up AI solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.
—Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to news about climate change, the environment, weather and science.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for climate change
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
Environmental advocates question the need for expanding fossil fuel resources a time when greenhouse gases from those fuels are worsening climate change.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 25 Oct. 2025
As concerns mount about the environmental impacts of AI data centers, the Bezos awards aims to scale up AI solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity.
—Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to news about climate change, the environment, weather and science.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 24 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 5 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share