Climate change affects all spheres by causing what?

• A. Atmosphere only
• B. Cryosphere only
• C. All spheres (atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere)
• D. Only hydrosphere and biosphere

Answer: (C)

Climate change changes the Earth's energy balance in a way that touches every part of the system. The atmosphere heats up, altering temperatures, precipitation, and weather patterns. The cryosphere responds with melting ice and snow, which lowers albedo and feeds back to more warming. The hydrosphere feels the impact through warmer oceans, larger sea-level rise, and shifts in currents and marine ecosystems. The biosphere reacts as habitats shift, species move, and timing of biological events changes. The geosphere also changes as permafrost thaws, soils behave differently with moisture variations, and erosion or landslides can become more common. Because these components are interconnected, changes in climate propagate across all of them. So, climate change affects all spheres.