There is no doubt that right now there is a great deal of global warming affecting the world right now.Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century's last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several years, according to a number of climate studies. The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004.
Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice free summer by 2040, or earlier. Polar Bears and other cold living animals are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's National Glacier Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later.Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.