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This visualization shows carbon emissions from fires from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2018. The color bar reflects the quantity of carbon emitted.
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Carbon Emissions from Fires...
Carbon Emissions from Fires: 2003-2018
Perhaps the most impressive of cloud formations, cumulonimbus (from the Latin for “pile” and “rain cloud”) clouds form due to vigorous convection (rising and overturning) of warm, moist and unstable air. Surface air is warmed by the sun-heated ground surface and rises; if sufficient atmospheric moisture is present, water droplets will condense as the air mass encounters cooler air at higher altitudes. The air mass itself also expands and cools as it rises due to decreasing atmospheric pressure, a process known as adiabatic cooling. This type of convection is common in tropical latitudes year-round and during the summer season at higher latitudes. As water in the rising air mass condenses and changes from a gas to a liquid state, it releases energy to its surroundings, further heating the surrounding air and leading to more convection and rising of the cloud mass to higher altitudes. This leads to the characteristic vertical “towers” associated with cumulonimbus clouds, an excellent example of which is visible in this astronaut photograph. If enough moisture is present to condense and heat the cloud mass through several convective cycles, a tower can rise to altitudes of approximately 10 kilometers at high latitudes and to 20 kilometers in the tropics before encountering a region of the atmosphere known as the tropopause—the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The tropopause is characterized by a strong temperature inversion. Beyond the tropopause, the air no longer gets colder as altitude increases. The tropopause halts further upward motion of the cloud mass. The cloud tops flatten and spread into an anvil shape, as illustrated by this astronaut photograph. The photo was taken from a viewpoint that was at an angle from the vertical, rather than looking straight down towards the Earth’s surface. The image, taken while the International Space Station was located over western Africa near the Senegal-Mali border, shows a fully formed anvil cloud with numerous smaller cumulonimbus towers rising near it. The high energy levels of these storm systems typically make them hazardous due to associated heavy precipitation, lightning, high wind speeds and possible tornadoes.
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Cumulonimbus cloud over Africa
Cumulonimbus cloud over Africa
This image shows a spinning formation of ice, clouds and low-lying fog off the eastern coast of Greenland. This image was acquired by the Landsat 7 satellite on May 14, 2001. This is a false-color composite image made using infrared, red and green wavelengths.
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Whirlpool
Whirlpool
A visualization shows ocean currents circulating Pine Island Bay and flowing under Pine Island Glacier.
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Video: Ocean Flows Under Pi...
Video: Ocean Flows Under Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
Visualization of 30 named storms during the 2020 hurricane season
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Video: 2020 Hurricane Season
Video: 2020 Hurricane Season
Video: Southern Hemisphere ozone between July 1 and December 31 for selected years between 1979 and 2018.
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Video: Ozone Watch 2018
Video: Ozone Watch 2018
A visualization shows global temperature changes per latitude zone from 1880 to 2021.
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Video: Global Warming Broke...
Video: Global Warming Broken Down by Latitude Zone (1880-2021)
This documentary traces the efforts of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to measure greenhouse gases.
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JPL and the Space Age: Sky ...
JPL and the Space Age: Sky High (Video)
Nuestra Tierra tiene fiebre. Nuestros científicos creen que la temperatura de la Tierra podría subir de 3 a 10 grados Fahrenheit durante este siglo.
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La Tierra tiene fiebre
La Tierra tiene fiebre
Video: Using observations from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite, scientists developed a model of the behavior of carbon in the atmosphere from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015.
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Following carbon dioxide th...
Video: Following atmospheric carbon dioxide
NASA scientists are working to understand if our land and ocean can continue to absorb carbon dioxide at the current rate – and for how long.
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Infographic: Earth's carbon...
Infographic: Earth's carbon cycle is off balance
This view of Earth from space is a fusion of science and art, drawing on data from multiple satellite missions and the talents of NASA scientists and graphic artists.
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Twin Blue Marbles
Twin Blue Marbles
En la gráfica se comparan los cambios en la temperatura de la superficie global (línea roja) y la energía del Sol que recibe la Tierra (línea amarilla) en vatios (unidades de energía) por metro cuadrado desde 1880.
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Temperature vs Solar Activi...
Temperatura vs actividad solar
An animation shows global sea level trends from 1993 to 2022 as observed by several satellite missions.
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Video: Tracking 30 Years of...
Video: Tracking 30 Years of Sea Level Rise
NASA's new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 space satellite will probe the carbon cycle like never before, telling us where the carbon is going and giving us clues as to where we will end up.
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Atmospheric carbon dioxide ...
Graphic: Measuring carbon dioxide from space
Los aerosoles son diminutas partículas sólidas y líquidas suspendidas en la atmósfera.
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Me llamo Aerosol
Me llamo Aerosol
Video: Scientists combined an array of NASA satellite observations of Earth with data on human activities to map locations where freshwater is changing around the globe and why.
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For 15 years, GRACE tracked...
Video: For 15 years, GRACE tracked freshwater movements around the world
Video: Winter temperatures are soaring in the Arctic for the fourth winter in a row.
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NASA studies an unusual Arc...
NASA studies an unusual Arctic warming event
Video: Images created from GRACE data showing changes in Greenland ice mass since 2002.
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Greenland ice loss 2002-2016
Video: Greenland ice loss 2002-2016
This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellites.
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Video: 27-Year Sea Level Rise
Video: 27-Year Sea Level Rise
The relentless rise of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
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The inexorable rise of carb...
Graphic: The relentless rise of carbon dioxide
Video: how different factors, both natural and industrial, contribute to global warming.
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How global warming stacks up
Video: How global warming stacks up
Pliocene CO2 graphic - climate.nasa.gov
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Pliocene CO2 graphic - clim...
Graphic: Carbon dioxide hits new high
Las nubes son complicadas cuando se trata de la ciencia del clima, ya que calientan y enfrían la Tierra.
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Las nubes.
Las nubes
Video: Images created from GRACE data showing changes in Antarctic ice mass since 2002.
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Antarctic ice loss 2002-2016
Video: Antarctic ice loss 2002-2016

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Interactives, galleries and apps

Images of Change

Images of Change

Explore a stunning gallery of before-and-after images of Earth from land and space that reveal our home planet in a state of flux.
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Climate Time Machine

Climate Time Machine

Travel through Earth's recent climate history and see how increasing carbon dioxide, global temperature and sea ice have changed over time.
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Eyes on the Earth

Eyes on the Earth

Track Earth's vital signs from space and fly along with NASA's Earth-observing satellites in an interactive 3D visualization.
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Global Ice Viewer

Global Ice Viewer

Earth's ice cover is shrinking. See how climate change has affected glaciers, sea ice, and continental ice sheets.
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