ENVIRONMENT GLOBAL WARMING

10 Myths About Global Warming Debunked - Updated to 20 January 2026

Introduction

Global warming - defined as the long‑term heating of Earth’s climate system driven primarily by human activities such as fossil‑fuel combustion-remains one of the most rigorously studied and internationally verified scientific realities. The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) confirms that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land at a rate unprecedented in at least 2,000 years. Despite this overwhelming consensus, misinformation continues to distort public understanding. As of January 2026, new climate data, including NASA’s confirmation that 2023 was the warmest year on record, further reinforces the urgency of addressing persistent myths. 

Debunking Common Climate Myths

Myth 1: “Current climate change is just a natural cycle.”

Earth’s climate has indeed varied naturally, but the speed and magnitude of warming since the Industrial Revolution far exceed natural variability. AR6 shows that the rate of global temperature increase since 1970 is higher than any 50‑year period in the last two millennia. Recent 2025-2026 ocean‑heat measurements confirm nine consecutive years of record‑high ocean heat content, further demonstrating human‑driven warming. Wikipedia

Myth 2: “Scientists still disagree about global warming.”

The scientific consensus remains exceptionally strong. NASA reports that 97% of actively publishing climate scientists agree that humans are the primary cause of recent warming. Major scientific bodies worldwide-including the American Geophysical Union, AAAS, and national academies-publicly affirm this conclusion.

Myth 3: “Climate has always changed, so current changes are not concerning.”

While climate has changed before, today’s rapid rate of change is the problem. Ecosystems, infrastructure, and societies cannot adapt to such accelerated shifts. AR6 documents widespread, intensifying impacts: sea‑level rise, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events occurring faster than predicted.

Myth 4: “Cold weather disproves global warming.”

Weather is short‑term; climate is long‑term. A cold week or snowstorm does not contradict decades of rising global temperatures. NASA’s long‑term datasets show that the last ten years have been the hottest on record, culminating in the record‑breaking year 2023.

Myth 5: “Antarctica is gaining ice, so global warming isn’t real.”

Localized ice gains in East Antarctica do not offset the continent‑wide net ice loss, especially from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Satellite observations (including GRACE) confirm accelerating mass loss. In 2026, the Ice Memory Foundation established a global repository of ice cores in Antarctica to preserve evidence of past climate conditions—underscoring scientific concern about rapid ice loss.

Myth 6: “More CO₂ is good because plants need it.”

While plants use CO₂, excessive atmospheric CO₂ drives heatwaves, droughts, and ecosystem disruption. AR6 concludes that any short‑term fertilization benefits are outweighed by severe climate‑driven agricultural risks, including crop failures and soil degradation.

Myth 7: “The sun is causing current warming.”

Solar irradiance has not increased in a way that explains modern warming. NASA and IPCC analyses show that the observed energy imbalance is due to greenhouse gases, not solar variability. If the sun were responsible, the entire atmosphere would warm uniformly—but instead, the troposphere warms while the stratosphere cools, a signature of greenhouse‑gas forcing.

Myth 8: “Climate models are unreliable.”

Climate models are not weather forecasts; they project long‑term trends. AR6 demonstrates that models from the 1970s onward accurately predicted the trajectory of global warming when compared with observed data. Uncertainties exist, but the fundamental direction-warming-is robust and repeatedly validated.

Myth 9: “Volcanoes emit more CO₂ than humans.”

This is scientifically false. The U.S. Geological Survey and international geophysical studies show that human activities emit nearly 100 times more CO₂ annually than all volcanoes combined. Volcanic emissions are negligible compared to fossil‑fuel combustion.

Myth 10: “Climate action will destroy the economy.”

Evidence shows the opposite. Investments in renewable energy, efficiency, and climate resilience create jobs, reduce long‑term disaster costs, and stimulate innovation. In 2026, global climate‑finance mechanisms continue to expand despite political shifts—such as the U.S. withdrawal from the UNFCCC and Green Climate Fund announced in January 2026—highlighting the geopolitical stakes of climate policy.

Conclusion

As of 20 January 2026, the scientific evidence for human‑driven climate change is stronger than ever. International datasets-from NASA’s temperature records to IPCC’s comprehensive assessments-consistently dismantle the myths that hinder global climate action. Recognizing the difference between weather and climate, understanding the rate and scale of anthropogenic warming, and acknowledging the overwhelming scientific consensus are essential steps toward meaningful mitigation and adaptation. Dispelling these myths enables societies to focus on the urgent task ahead: building a resilient, low‑carbon future grounded in scientific reality.

Bibliography

Books

• Hansen, James. Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity. Bloomsbury, 2009.
• Mann, Michael E. The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet. PublicAffairs, 2021.
• Kolbert, Elizabeth. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Henry Holt and Company, 2014.
• Lynas, Mark. Our Final Warning: Six Degrees of Climate Emergency. HarperCollins, 2020.
• Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. Rodale Books, 2006.
• Rockström, Johan & Klum, Mattias. Big World, Small Planet: Abundance Within Planetary Boundaries. Yale University Press, 2015.
• Oreskes, Naomi & Conway, Erik M. Merchants of Doubt. Bloomsbury Press, 2010.
• Klein, Naomi. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. Simon & Schuster, 2014.

International Scientific Reports & Institutional Sources

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Sixth Assessment Report (AR6): Synthesis Report. IPCC, 2023.
• IPCC. Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5). IPCC, 2018.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). Global Temperature Analysis. NASA, updated 2026.
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). State of the Climate Reports. NOAA, 2024-2026.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Emissions Gap Report 2025. UNEP, 2025.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update. WMO, 2025.
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Volcanic Gas Emissions and Their Impact on the Atmosphere. USGS, 2024.
• Ice Memory Foundation. International Ice Core Preservation Initiative. 2025-2026.