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
If reducing the cost of housing alone is not enough, then for those that care about the environment and climate change, there is plenty to love in the growing push to legalize more infill homes in our cities.
—Daniel Yost, Mercury News, 16 June 2025
As climate change scorches many regions responsible for growing the country’s produce, Illinois farms will become even more important for local — and national — food security.
—Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2025
Additionally, Macron’s visit would focus on Arctic security, climate change and Greenland’s economic development, the source added.
—Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 15 June 2025
Not unprecedented and not climate change The change doesn’t reflect unprecedented temperatures, with Fairbanks having reached 90 degrees twice in 2024, Srinivasan said.
—Mark Thiessen, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2025
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Daniel Yost, Mercury News, 16 June 2025
As climate change scorches many regions responsible for growing the country’s produce, Illinois farms will become even more important for local — and national — food security.
—Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2025
Additionally, Macron’s visit would focus on Arctic security, climate change and Greenland’s economic development, the source added.
—Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 15 June 2025
Not unprecedented and not climate change The change doesn’t reflect unprecedented temperatures, with Fairbanks having reached 90 degrees twice in 2024, Srinivasan said.
—Mark Thiessen, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 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 19 Jun. 2025.
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