What is Earth's Energy Imbalance and How is it Changing?
Provided by: Probable Futures|Published on: August 29, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Type: Articles/Websites
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: Phil Duffy, Charlotte Venner
Region: Global
Languages: English
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This article explains what Earth's energy imbalance is and how it drives global warming.
- It describes how the greenhouse effect, reduced particulate pollution, and feedback loops such as albedo loss, increasing water vapor, changing cloud cover, and warming-induced emissions are accelerating warming.
- It also discusses how scientists measure the imbalance and what it suggests about future warming.
Teaching Materials
Classroom Implementation:
- Use the discussion of feedback loops to have students diagram self-reinforcing cycles such as ice-albedo feedback.
- Consider pairing this reading with a discussion of how scientists use satellites and ocean floats as different lines of evidence.
- Note that while there are natural sources of energy imbalances on Earth, they are currently dominated by anthropogenic ones.
Extensions:
- Use a modeling program such as Insight Maker to create a feedback system that represents the flow of energy from the Sun to Earth.
- Discuss why we often talk about degrees of warming to characterize the state of the climate but not the imbalance.
Related Resources:
- Use this interactive activity to explore the flows of energy by region and type (convection, conduction, and radiation) and understand how the increased greenhouse effect causes global warming.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
Probable Futures
Probable Futures offers useful tools and maps to visualize climate change along with stories and insights to help people understand what those changes mean.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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