What is climate change? The causes, effects and solutions explained in charts
If it were not for carbon dioxide, the temperature of the Earth would average minus 18C. Four million years ago, when trees grew near the South Pole and global temperatures were 3C warmer, CO2 levels were the highest they had been until modern times.
Fifteen thousand years ago, when ice sheets covered Northern Europe and temperatures were 6C cooler, they had dropped by more than half. Ten thousand years ago, as we came out of that ice age, there was a sharp rise in CO2 in the atmosphere.
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