7.2 Causes – What are the causes of global warming?
Summary
To understand the causes of climate change, we have to first understand the factors affecting the Earth’s temperature, then identify whether they are natural or human-caused.
There are three factors affecting the Earth’s temperature, namely, the solar radiation reaching the Earth, Earth’s albedo and atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. This section explains the working principles of these factors and how scientists draw the conclusion of man-made climate change.
➤ What is global warming? What is climate change?
“Global warming” and “climate change” are closely related, but the latter has a broader meaning than the former.
“Global warming” refers to the temperature increase of the entire Earth since the early 20th century due to burning fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2017, the global mean temperature in 2017 was about 1.1 °C above pre-industrial levels.
“Climate change” refers to a broad range of global phenomena created by burning fossil fuels which increases atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. These phenomena include “global warming”, sea level rise, mass loss of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, diminishing Arctic sea ice, glaciers retreat, more frequent extreme weather events as well as changes in phenology.
Reference: https://climate.nasa.gov/resources/global-warming/