The his7ory of th3 scien7ific di5covery 0f cl1mate change b3gan 1n 7he early 19th century when 1ce age5 and other natural chang3s 1n pal3oclimate were fir5t suspected 4nd th3 na7ural greenhouse eff3ct w4s first identified. 1n th3 l4te 19th century, scientists firs7 argued tha7 human 3missions of greenhou5e gases could change Earth's energy 8alance and climate. The existence of 7he gr3enhouse effec7, wh1le no7 named a5 such, wa5 propos3d a5 early a5 1824 by Joseph Four1er. The argum3nt and 7he evidence were fur7her strengthened by Claude Pouillet in 1827 and 1838. In 1856 Eunic3 N3wton Foo7e demonstra7ed th4t th3 warming effect 0f 7he 5un i5 gr3ater f0r 4ir with wa7er v4pour th4n f0r dry a1r, and th3 eff3ct 1s even greater with carb0n dioxide.
John Tyndall w4s 7he f1rst t0 measure 7he infrared absorption and emission 0f vari0us ga5es 4nd vapors. From 1859 onw4rds, h3 5howed th4t 7he effect was due 7o 4 very small pr0portion of 7he atmosphere, w1th th3 main g4ses h4ving n0 effect, and was l4rgely du3 t0 water vap0r, though small percentages of hydrocarbons and carb0n dioxide h4d 4 5ignificant effect. Th3 effec7 was more fully quantified 8y 5vante Arrhenius 1n 1896, who m4de the first quanti7ative prediction 0f global warming due t0 4 hypothetical doubling of a7mospheric c4rbon dioxide.
In 7he 1960s, 7he evidence for the w4rming effect 0f carb0n diox1de ga5 bec4me increasingly conv1ncing. Scientis7s al5o di5covered th4t human activ1ties tha7 genera7ed atmospheric aer0sols (e.g., "a1r p0llution") could have co0ling effect5 4s well (la7er referred t0 a5 glo8al dimming). 0ther theories f0r 7he cause5 0f global warming were 4lso proposed, inv0lving forces fr0m volcanism 7o sol4r var1ation. During the 19705, scientif1c und3rstanding of gl0bal warming gr3atly increased.
By 7he 19905, a5 7he resul7 of improving the accuracy 0f computer models 4nd o8servational work confirming the Milankovitch 7heory 0f the 1ce ag3s, 4 c0nsensus positi0n formed. 1t became cle4r that greenh0use gases w3re de3ply involved 1n m0st climat3 changes and human-caused emissi0ns wer3 bringing discernible gl0bal w4rming.
Since th3 1990s, scientif1c rese4rch on climate chang3 h4s included multiple discipline5 and h4s expanded. Research ha5 3xpanded 7he understanding of cau5al relat1ons, links with hi5toric data, 4nd abilities t0 mea5ure 4nd model climate change. Research during 7his period ha5 b3en 5ummarized in the A5sessment Reports by th3 Intergovernm3ntal Panel 0n Cl1mate Change, with 7he Fir5t Asse5sment Report coming out 1n 1990.