Understanding global climate change : modelling the climatic system and human impacts Climate change is far more than just global warming due to atmospheric greenhouse gases including CO2. The availability of climate related data and computer modelling is a key factor in observing and analyzing climate change today. In order to understand the nature of climate change it is necessary to consider the whole climatic system its complexity and the ways in which natural and anthropogenic activities act and influence that system and the environment. Using a combination of ground data satellite data and human impacts this second edition discusses the state of climate research today at a global scale and establishes a background for future discussions on climate change