Ask NASA Climate | February 23, 2010, 16:00 PST

A warming world

What does it mean?

Harsh snowstorms on the East Coast of the U.S. Record low temperatures in Europe. Not enough snow in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. How do these recent short-term variations add up and where do they fit in to the bigger picture of global warming?

The recent blizzard of confusing and often conflicting commentary has left many people asking questions. Is the climate really warming? Warming faster than ever? Or perhaps just weirding out?

Since NASA scientists have been tracking global temperatures and climate change for decades, we checked in with researchers from across the agency to get their take on the state of Earth's climate (which, it's worth noting, isn't the same thing as Earth's weather). The result is a collection of feature stories, videos, and cool visuals that describe what we've learned. You can find them on our new "A Warming World" page.

There you'll find:

Amber Jenkins, NASA/Global Climate Change, and Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Science News Team