Human and physical causes of climate change
Climate change is not just a human story or a natural one — it is both, tangled together, with feedback loops running in every direction.
Part of your national curriculum
- Human and physical geography: Understand how human and physical processes interact to influence, and be influenced by, climate change
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand how human and physical processes interact to influence, and be influenced by, climate change
Key learning points
- • Human causes
- • Physical processes
- • Feedback loops
- • Two-way effects
This lesson at a glance
- 28 minutes
- 19 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 19
Visual introductionPicture this
Human and physical causes of climate change
Climate change is not just a human story or a natural one — it is both, tangled together, with feedback loops running in every direction.
In a nutshell
Understand how human and physical processes interact to influence, and be influenced by, climate change
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 19
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Human causes
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 19
Learn
Human causes
Burning fossil fuels for energy and transport releases carbon dioxide, while deforestation, for example in the Amazon, removes trees that would otherwise absorb CO2, together increasing the greenhouse effect.
Reset break
Part 4 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 19
Learn
Physical processes
Natural processes such as volcanic eruptions and variations in the sun's output also affect climate, but since the Industrial Revolution, human greenhouse gas emissions have driven warming far faster than natural cycles alone.
Quick check
Part 6 of 19
Quick check
Part 7 of 19
Reset break
Part 8 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 19
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Feedback loops
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 19
Learn
Feedback loops
Melting Arctic sea ice reduces the reflective white surface (albedo), so more heat is absorbed by darker ocean water, causing further warming — a physical process accelerated by human-caused warming.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 19
Learn
Two-way effects
Climate change then affects human systems: rising sea levels threaten low-lying countries like Bangladesh, and changing rainfall patterns affect farming in the Sahel, showing how human and physical processes constantly interact.
Reset break
Part 12 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 19
Challenge round
Part 14 of 19
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 15 of 19
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Melting Arctic sea ice reduces the reflective white surface (albedo), so more heat is absorbed by darker ocean water, causing further warming — a ____ process accelerated by human-caused warming.
Reset break
Part 16 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 19
Game · Recall cards
Why can a new road cause forest loss beyond its own route?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 18 of 19
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Human and physical causes of climate change
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Why can a new road cause forest loss beyond its own route?
2. Which approach grows crops while retaining a mixture of trees?
3. Which is the strongest evaluation of a rainforest strategy?
4. Which source gives a direct sample of ancient atmosphere?
Lesson round-up
Part 19 of 19
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
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Ask LunaPart 1 of 19 · Watch & discover
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Understand how human and physical processes interact to influence, and be influenced by, climate change