What is climate change?
Climate change is the term commonly used when talking about global warming. The Earth is like a giant greenhouse, but instead of having glass panes which trap heat, it has gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. As the sun’s rays shine on the Earth this blanket of gases traps some of the heat – which has the effect of warming the planet and keeping it at a relatively constant level. Without it the Earth would either get too hot or too cold. When greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere by human activity like burning fossil fuels and clearing land, it’s like constantly adding more glass layers to the greenhouse, ultimately raising the temperature inside. If we don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is a risk that the Earth will heat to a level which could seriously affect life on our planet. For more information on what is climate change, please go to Australian Conservation Foundation’s website. Human induced climate change has its sceptics but increasingly scientists
Climate change refers to the temperature shifts and the change in the earth’s weather patterns that are believed to be caused by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists report that the global temperature record shows an average warming of about 1F over the past century. This warming has been recorded in both the northern and southern hemispheres, and over the oceans, with some areas much warmer and others actually cooler. The effects of climate change at its worst could mean that the polar ice caps would melt, continents not under water now could be flooded, or land that is now arable could become a vast desert. Carbon dioxide is one of the primary “greenhouse gasses”. The burning of fossil fuels is one of the major sources of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth’s global climate or regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere – or average weather – over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes may come from internal processes, be driven by external forces or, most recently, be caused by human activities. Recent climate changes have been attributed to global warming, which is caused by the increase in atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, trapping more heat near the Earths surface. Global warming affects regional climate events such as rainfall patterns, evaporation, and cloud formation change.
An increase in atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases results in a change of the Earth’s temperature. This is predicted using up-to-date computers and software. How much the temperature will alter is not certain yet, but all models indicate the same direction — increase! This will result in what is called global warming. Due to global warming, regional climate events such as rainfall patterns, evaporation, and cloud formation will change and will consequently lead to climate change in the long run.
