Bing Climate Science Quiz – Data, Ice and Global Patterns
The Bing Climate Science Quiz shows how well you understand temperature records, ice cores and the forces shaping Earth's long-term patterns, including the greenhouse effect, the Keeling Curve, El Niño, sea ice, the Gulf Stream and the Paris Agreement. Weather isn't the same as climate.
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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
Basics
What is the main difference between weather and climate?
Ice
What do scientists learn from ice cores drilled in Antarctica and Greenland?
Gases
Which gas released by burning fossil fuels is the main driver of recent warming?
Records
What does the Keeling Curve show?
Oceans
What is El Niño?
Greenhouse
What does the greenhouse effect do?
Currents
Which ocean current helps keep Western Europe milder than other places at the same latitude?
Sea level
Why does melting sea ice raise sea levels much less than melting land ice?
Policy
What is the main goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement?
Records
Which year was the warmest on record globally, according to major climate agencies?
Your score
0/10
Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: What is the main difference between weather and climate?
Answer: Weather is short-term and climate is the long-term average
Climate is usually described with averages over 30 years or more. A single cold day does not change the climate.
- Q2: What do scientists learn from ice cores drilled in Antarctica and Greenland?
Answer: Past temperatures and greenhouse gas levels
Tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice preserve samples of ancient atmosphere. Some Antarctic cores cover about 800,000 years.
- Q3: Which gas released by burning fossil fuels is the main driver of recent warming?
Answer: Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere. Its level has risen from about 280 parts per million before industry to more than 420 today.
- Q4: What does the Keeling Curve show?
Answer: Rising carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa in Hawaii
Charles David Keeling began the measurements in 1958. The line rises every year with a small seasonal zigzag.
- Q5: What is El Niño?
Answer: A periodic warming of the tropical Pacific that affects weather worldwide
El Niño shifts rainfall and temperatures in many regions. Its cooler opposite phase is called La Niña.
- Q6: What does the greenhouse effect do?
Answer: It keeps Earth warmer by trapping heat
Without any greenhouse effect, Earth would average about minus 18 degrees Celsius. Extra greenhouse gases strengthen the effect.
- Q7: Which ocean current helps keep Western Europe milder than other places at the same latitude?
Answer: The Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic. It is part of a larger circulation system.
- Q8: Why does melting sea ice raise sea levels much less than melting land ice?
Answer: Sea ice is already floating in the water
Floating ice already displaces its own weight of water. Ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica add new water when they melt.
- Q9: What is the main goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement?
Answer: Limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius
Countries agreed to try to limit warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Each country sets its own targets.
- Q10: Which year was the warmest on record globally, according to major climate agencies?
Answer: 2024
Agencies including NASA and Copernicus ranked 2024 as the warmest year since records began. It was the first year above 1.5 degrees of warming.
Bing Climate Science Quiz – Data, Ice and Global Patterns
Climate science studies long-term patterns in Earth's atmosphere, oceans and ice. Weather describes what happens today, while climate describes the averages and extremes over decades. Scientists use many kinds of data to understand both the past and the present.
Ice cores are one of the best records. Air bubbles trapped in Antarctic and Greenland ice show temperatures and greenhouse gas levels going back hundreds of thousands of years. Since 1958, the Keeling Curve has tracked rising carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa in Hawaii.
The greenhouse effect keeps Earth warm enough for life, but extra carbon dioxide from fossil fuels strengthens it. Ocean patterns matter too: El Niño shifts weather worldwide, and the Gulf Stream keeps Western Europe milder than other regions at the same latitude.
Ice and sea level are closely watched. Melting land ice on Greenland and Antarctica raises seas more than floating sea ice does. The Paris Agreement of 2015 set the goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees, and agencies ranked 2024 as the warmest year on record.
Each of the ten questions in the Bing Climate Science Quiz gives you three choices and a short explanation once you answer. The timer runs for 150 seconds, so try to trust your first instinct on the easy ones and save time for the tricky questions near the end. You can replay the quiz as often as you like. The score is just for fun, so there is no pressure. If a question surprises you, read the explanation and try a related quiz afterward to build on what you learned.
Play the quiz and see how well you understand the science of Earth's climate.
What This Quiz Teaches
- Weather versus climate
- Ice core records
- Greenhouse gases
- Ocean patterns like El Niño
- Sea level and ice
- International climate agreements
Quick Facts
- Climate is usually measured over 30 years or more.
- Oceans absorb most of the extra heat in the climate system.
- Tree rings and corals also record past climates.
- Earth has had several ice ages.
- Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Arctic sea ice is smallest in September.
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