How much will the Earth warm if emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise?
If humans continue to emit greenhouse gases at or above the current pace, we will probably see an average global temperature increase of 3 to 7°F (2 to 4ºC) by 2100, and greater warming after that. Temperatures in some parts of the globe (e.g., over land and in the polar regions) are expected to rise even more. Even if we drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, returning them to year 2000 levels and holding them constant, the Earth would still warm about 1°F (0.6ºC) over the next one hundred years. This is due to the long lifetime of many greenhouse gases and the slow cycling of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere. For more information, visit the Future Climate Change page on EPA’s Climate Change site.
