MYTH: Climate change models cannot forecast the future of the Earth's climate.

FACT: A climate model is a simulation of the interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice. They are used to study many things, such as possible effects of current conditions on the future climate. The models identify predicted changes in the average temperature of the Earth by measuring the balance between incoming shortwave electromagnetic radiation and the outgoing long-wave electromagnetic radiation. When the radiation becomes unbalanced, the models show a change in the average global temperature.

Scientists check the accuracy of their models by comparing them to past temperature patterns. If the data matches previous known patterns, then the accuracy for future patterns is more reliable. In this way, they are able to create highly predictive, scientific scenarios of our future climate.

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