the average temperature increase in the last 100 years is only 2°F. How can such a small amount be impactful?

Question

Not looking for a political argument. I need facts. I am in no way a climate change denier, but I had a conversation with someone who told me the average increase is only 2°F over the past 100 years. That doesn’t seem like a lot and would support the argument that the climate goes through waves of changes naturally over time.

I’m going to run into him tomorrow and I need some ammo to support the climate change argument. Is it the rate of change that’s increasing that makes it dangerous? Is 2° enough to cause a lot of polar ice caps to melt? I need some facts to counter his. Thanks!

Edit: spelling

In: 597

Answer 1

A good way to introduce it to beginners is:

2 degrees hotter in the city isn’t bad, but two degrees hotter body temperature already puts you in an very uncomfortable fever. The earth is just as sensitive. Heat is energy, and at the scale of the earth, the temperature change means a massive amount of energy that affects “normal operations”