In 2014 alone, our planet has seen the hottest August on record, the western U.S. got snow in September, the Southwest saw record rainfall, Pakistan had flash floods and the U.S. bundled up for polar vortices (even in July!). And that's just a fraction of the climatological effects humans are experiencing on a daily basis.
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Climate change is real. And while you may hear the statistics and see some effects of climate change in your own backyard, sometimes pictures really are worth a thousand words. The photos below show places on earth that have taken a beating because of climate change. The images compare these locations to other points throughout history -- sometimes more than 100 years prior, and sometimes just a few years prior.
1. Alps Glacier
The Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps, in 1890 and 2003. Like all glaciers on earth, is retreating, at an average rate of 3% per year. Between 1850 and 2005, the Aletsch Glacier's surface area shrank 40%, and the volume shrank by 60%, according to the Swiss Academy of Sciences.
2. Colorado wildfire
Trevor Lane in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before and after the Waldo Canyon fire ripped through the area in 2012. Climate change means wildfire seasons are longer, conditions are drier and there's an increased frequency of lightning.
3. Santa Barbara wildfire
Mountain Drive in Santa Barbara, CA, in 1995 (left) and in 2008 (right) show devastation caused by the 2008 Montecito Tea Fire. The first image shows the area several years before the fire, while the second image was taken just days after the fire was contained.
4. Washington glacier melts
The South Cascades Glacier in 1979 and 2003. Glaciers in the North Cascades of Washington have shrunk by 40% in the last 150 years.
5. Visayas sea levels rise
Visayan Islands cities of Cebu and Tacloban in 1949 and 2013. The Philippines were devastated by super typhoon Haiyan on November 8, 2013, and left many parts of the country under water.
6. Miami Sea Levels
South Beach in Miami in the early 1900s and 2014. Since the 1920s, the global average sea level has risen about nine inches and, because Miami sits at sea level, it is very vulnerable to storm-related flooding and sea-level rise.
7. Washington landslide
A satellite image of Whidbey Island, Washington, before (left) and after (right) after a landslide hit the area on March 27, 2013, after several days of heavy rain.
8. Drought in Romania
The Danube river in 2009 (left) and in 2011 (right) in Calarasi, in southern Romania. The waters of the Danube were so low due to drought that dozens of cargo ships were getting stuck in mud.
9. Drought in California
The Enterprise Bridge passes over a section of Lake Oroville in 2011 (left) and 2014 (right) in Oroville, California, which is experiencing "exceptional" drought.
The Green Bridge passes over a section of Lake Oroville in 2011 (left) and in 2014 (right) in Oroville, California.
10. Coral reef bleaching
A photo of a woman snorkeling around the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 2002 (left) and 2014 (right). When ocean water is too warm, coral will expel the algae living in its tissues, which blanches the appearance of the coral, according to NOAA.
11. Colorado forests gone brown
The Rocky Mountain National Park in in 2001 (left) and in 2007 (right). The iconic pine and aspen forests of the Rocky Mountains are dying off at an alarming rate thanks to conditions exacerbated by climate change -- drought, insect infestations and wildfires.
12. Snow falls in Egypt
Cairo, Egypt in 1920 and 2013. Normally-arid Egypt experienced the first snowfall in 112 years in December 2013, as a part of the Middle East cold snap.
13. Snow falls in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA, in 1977 and during winter 2014, when three inches of snow prompted Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina to declare a state of emergency. The storm turned roads into parking lots and claimed 13 lives, according to USA Today.
Christina Ascani and Elizabeth Pierson contributed to reporting.