What causes climate change?
The climate on Earth has been changing since it formed 4.5 billion years
ago. Until recently, natural factors have been the cause of these changes.
Natural influences on the climate include volcanic eruptions, changes in the
orbit of the Earth, and shifts in the Earth's crust (known as plate tectonics).
Over the past one million years, the Earth has experienced a series of ice-
ages ('glacial periods') and warmer periods ('interglacial'). Glacial and
interglacial periods cycle roughly every 100,000 years, caused by changes
in Earth's orbit around the sun. For the past few thousand years, Earth has
been in an interglacial period with a constant temperature.
However, since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, the global
temperature has increased at a much faster rate. By burning fossil fuels
and changing how we use the land, human activity has quickly become the
leading cause of changes to our climate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrPS2HiYVp8
Greenhouse gases and the
greenhouse effect
Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat and stop it escaping into
space. We call these 'greenhouse gases'. These gases act as a warming
blanket around the Earth, known as the 'greenhouse effect'.
Greenhouse gases come from both human and natural sources. Gases like
carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide naturally occur in the
atmosphere. Others, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are only
produced by human activity.
When short-wave radiation from the sun reaches Earth, most of it passes
straight through and hits the surface. The Earth absorbs most of this
radiation and gives off longer-wavelength infrared radiation.
The greenhouse gases absorb some of this infrared radiation, instead of it
passing straight out into space. The atmosphere then emits radiation in all
directions, sending some of it back to the surface, causing the planet to
heat up. This process is known as the 'greenhouse effect'.
The climate on Earth has been changing since it formed 4.5 billion years
ago. Until recently, natural factors have been the cause of these changes.
Natural influences on the climate include volcanic eruptions, changes in the
orbit of the Earth, and shifts in the Earth's crust (known as plate tectonics).
Over the past one million years, the Earth has experienced a series of ice-
ages ('glacial periods') and warmer periods ('interglacial'). Glacial and
interglacial periods cycle roughly every 100,000 years, caused by changes
in Earth's orbit around the sun. For the past few thousand years, Earth has
been in an interglacial period with a constant temperature.
However, since the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, the global
temperature has increased at a much faster rate. By burning fossil fuels
and changing how we use the land, human activity has quickly become the
leading cause of changes to our climate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrPS2HiYVp8
Greenhouse gases and the
greenhouse effect
Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat and stop it escaping into
space. We call these 'greenhouse gases'. These gases act as a warming
blanket around the Earth, known as the 'greenhouse effect'.
Greenhouse gases come from both human and natural sources. Gases like
carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide naturally occur in the
atmosphere. Others, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are only
produced by human activity.
When short-wave radiation from the sun reaches Earth, most of it passes
straight through and hits the surface. The Earth absorbs most of this
radiation and gives off longer-wavelength infrared radiation.
The greenhouse gases absorb some of this infrared radiation, instead of it
passing straight out into space. The atmosphere then emits radiation in all
directions, sending some of it back to the surface, causing the planet to
heat up. This process is known as the 'greenhouse effect'.
