Book 7, Question 97
Why Can One Hot Day Not Prove the Climate Is Changing?
One hot day can't prove the climate is changing because one day is just weather. Weather jumps up and down naturally, so scientists look for long patterns across many places and many years. Don't judge a book by one page!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 7
More fun facts
- Weather changes on timescales from minutes to weeks. Climate is weather averaged over several decades.
- Scientists compare temperatures against a 30-year average to spot real changes.
- Global temperatures in 2025 were cooler than in 2024, but still about 2 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1951 to 1980 average.
- Maps of global temperature show some places cooler than average even in a warm year.
- Climate scientists look at measurements from all around the world, on land and in the ocean.
Sources: NASA Science, NASA Science
Questions kids ask
Can one year be cooler even if the climate is warming?
Yes. 2025 was cooler than 2024, but both were well above the long-term average.
How do scientists see a climate trend?
They compare many years of data from around the world to a long-term average.