Climate Change 2021: Global Warming Effects The Pandemic has shaken much of human society, but still the threat posed by global warming has not gone away. The Earth's average temperature is about 15 degree Celsius, in recent years the temparature has been much higher and lower. There are natural fluctuations in the climate, but scientists say, "temperatures are now rising faster than at many other times." The planet's average surface temperature has gone up about 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit, that is 1.18 degrees Celsius, since the late 19th century. This change was driven largely due to increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and other human activities.