Climate change refers to the long term rise in average global temperatures due to human activity like burning fossil fuels. This releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat and changing the climate in ways that have negative effects. Some consequences of climate change include more extreme weather, economic damages from these events, flooding, landslides and wildfires which can also cause deaths. While natural factors like solar and volcanic activity can influence climate over long periods, human activity is the dominant cause of recent climate change according to scientific studies.