Global climate change Images

In 2014 alone, our planet has seen the hottest August on record, the western U.S. got snow in September, the Southwest saw and the U.S. bundled up for !). And that's just a fraction of the climatological effects humans are experiencing on a daily basis.

Climate change is real. And while you may hear the statistics and see some effects of climate change in your own backyard, sometimes pictures really are worth a thousand words. The photos below show places on earth that have taken a beating because of climate change. The images compare these locations to other points throughout history — sometimes more than 100 years prior, and sometimes just a few years prior.

1. Alps Glacier

Image: Roger Viollet Collection / Getty Images, Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

The Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps, in 1890 and 2003. Like all glaciers on earth, is retreating, at an average rate of 3% per year. Between 1850 and 2005, the Aletsch Glacier's surface area shrank 40%, and the volume shrank by 60%, according to the Swiss Academy of Sciences.

2. Colorado wildfire

Image: DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

Trevor Lane in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before and after the Waldo Canyon fire ripped through the area in 2012. Climate change means wildfire seasons are longer, conditions are drier and there's an increased frequency of lightning.

3. Santa Barbara wildfire

Image: The Santa Barbara County Flood Control District

Mountain Drive in Santa Barbara, CA, in 1995 (left) and in 2008 (right) show devastation caused by the 2008 Montecito Tea Fire. The first image shows the area several years before the fire, while the second image was taken just days after the fire was contained.

4. Washington glacier melts

Image: MCT / Getty Images

The South Cascades Glacier in 1979 and 2003. Glaciers in the North Cascades of Washington have shrunk by 40% in the last 150 years.

5. Visayas sea levels rise

Image: Jack Birns / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images, Onur Coban / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

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