What should you know about climate change?

What is climate change?

Climate change describes a change in the average conditions — such as temperature and rainfall — in a region over a long period of time. NASA scientists have observed Earth’s surface is warming, and many of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years.

What are the Effects of Climate Change?

Climate change can lead to: - Earth’s warming - Rising sea levels - Shrinking mountain glaciers - Ice melting at a faster rate than usual in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic - Changes in flower and plant blooming times. - Health Risks

Factors Causing Climate Change

Both natural and human factors, can influence the earth’s climate system. - Distance From Sea - Ocean Currents - Direction of Prevailing Winds - Topography - Greenhouse Effect - Human Influence

What are some Greenhouse Gases & its Sources?

Carbon dioxide is undoubtedly, the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Methane, Water Vapours, Nitrous Oxide are another important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Sources of greenhouse Gases are:

- Electricity is the main source of power in urban areas. All our gadgets run on electricity generated mainly from thermal power plants. These thermal power plants are run on fossil fuels (mostly coal) and are responsible for the emission of huge amounts of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

- Cars, buses, and trucks mainly run on petrol or diesel, both fossil fuels.

- We generate large quantities of waste in the form of plastics that remain in the environment for many years and cause damage.

- Growing population.

- Deforestation

What if Greenhouse Gases were Absent?

On Earth, if we didn’t have greenhouse gases, we’d live in an icebox. It would kind of be like living on the moon which doesn’t have an atmosphere at all. Problem is.. We put too much CO2, methane and N2O in the air, it amplifies the greenhouse effect and less solar radiation is radiating back to space.

Can We Blame Sun For Warming Earth?

Not Really.. The amount of solar energy that Earth receives has followed the Sun’s natural 11-year cycle of small ups and downs with no net increase since the 1950s. Over the same period, global temperature has risen markedly. It is therefore extremely unlikely that the Sun has caused the observed global temperature warming trend over the past half-century.