The two most important factors in the climate of an area are temperature and precipitation. The yearly average temperature of the area is obviously important, but the yearly range in temperature is also important. Some areas have a much larger range between highest and lowest temperature than other areas.
For example, when heat radiation from the surface slows, as caused by increasing greenhouse gas abundances, the balance can only be maintained if the temperature rises. Changing clouds can alter this relation, either increasing or decreasing the magnitude of the resulting temperature increase.
More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people's livelihoods and communities. As climate change worsens, dangerous weather events are becoming more frequent or severe.
Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by making power on-site with renewables and other climate-friendly energy resources. Examples include rooftop solar panels, solar water heating, small-scale wind generation, fuel cells powered by natural gas or renewable hydrogen, and geothermal energy.
Scientists say the accumulation of heat in the oceans is the strongest evidence of how fast Earth is warming due to heat-trapping gases released by the burning of fossil fuels.
Top 10 Solutions to Reverse Climate Change
- Refrigerant Management.
- Wind Turbines (Onshore) The problem: Fossil fuels sidelined zero-emission wind energy during the mid-twentieth century.
- Reduced Food Waste.
- Adoption of a Plant-Rich Diet.
- Tropical Forest Restoration.
- Educating Girls.
- Family Planning.
- Solar Farms.
Source
| Greenhouse gas | Chemical formula | |
|---|
| Carbon Dioxide | CO2 | 100* |
| Methane | CH4 | 12 |
| Nitrous Oxide | N2O | 121 |
| Chlorofluorocarbon-12 (CFC-12) | CCl2F2 | 100 |
Global warming refers only to the Earth's rising surface temperature, while climate change includes warming and the “side effects†of warming—like melting glaciers, heavier rainstorms, or more frequent drought. Climate change, on the other hand, can mean human-caused changes or natural ones, such as ice ages.
What are the effects of climate change and global warming?
- rising maximum temperatures.
- rising minimum temperatures.
- rising sea levels.
- higher ocean temperatures.
- an increase in heavy precipitation (heavy rain and hail)
- shrinking glaciers.
- thawing permafrost.
Global warming is an aspect of climate change, referring to the long-term rise of the planet's temperatures. It is caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mainly from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, and farming.
10 Ways to Stop Global Warming
- Change a light. Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
- Drive less.
- Recycle more.
- Check your tires.
- Use less hot water.
- Avoid products with a lot of packaging.
- Adjust your thermostat.
- Plant a tree.
How Much Is Earth's Climate Changing Right Now? Some parts of Earth are warming faster than others. But on average, global air temperatures near Earth's surface have gone up about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years. In fact, the past five years have been the warmest five years in centuries.
Carbon dioxide concentrations are rising mostly because of the fossil fuels that people are burning for energy.
Although future events are necessarily uncertain, so guaranteed accurate information about the future is impossible.
As the Earth heats up, animals and plants are not necessarily helpless. They can move to cooler climes; they can stay put and adapt as individuals to their warmer environment, and they can even adapt as a species, by evolving. (Related: "Rain Forest Plants Race to Outrun Global Warming.")
Climate models predict that Earth's global average temperature will rise and additional 4° C (7.2° F) during the 21st Century if greenhouse gas levels continue to rise.
Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth's climate system observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere.
How reliable have they been? Now a new evaluation of global climate models used to project Earth's future global average surface temperatures over the past half-century answers that question: most of the models have been quite accurate.
Even if the atmospheric composition of greenhouse gases and other forcing agents was kept constant at levels from the year 2000, global warming would reach about 1.5℃ by the end of the century. Without changing our behaviour it could increase to 3-5℃ by the end of the century.
