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In common usage, climate change describes global warming —the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate.
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...
Also called global warming denial. climate change feedback A natural phenomenon that may increase or decrease the warming that eventually results from a change in radiative forcing. climate change mitigation approaches to limit global warming, primarily by the substitution of fossil fuels with low-carbon sources of energy climate commitment How much future warming is "committed", even if ...
Definition. The greenhouse effect on Earth is defined as: "The infrared radiative effect of all infrared absorbing constituents in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases (GHGs), clouds, and some aerosols absorb terrestrial radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface and elsewhere in the atmosphere." [ 15]: 2232.
Carbon dioxide (CO 2) is the main greenhouse gas resulting from human activities. It accounts for more than half of warming. Methane (CH 4) emissions have almost the same short-term impact. [ 5] Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and fluorinated gases (F-gases) play a lesser role in comparison.
Global warming is an aspect of modern climate change, a term that also includes the observed changes in precipitation, storm tracks and cloudiness. As a consequence, glaciers worldwide have been found to be shrinking significantly .
The report showed that it was possible to keep warming below 1.5 °C during the 21st century. But this would mean deep cuts in emissions. It would also mean rapid, far-reaching changes in all aspects of society. [72] The report showed warming of 2 °C would have much more severe impacts than 1.5 °C. In other words: every bit of warming matters.
The global surface temperature (GST) is calculated by averaging the temperatures over sea ( sea surface temperature) and land ( surface air temperature ). Changes in global temperatures over the past century provide evidence for the effects of increasing greenhouse gases. When the climate system reacts to such changes, climate change follows.