Global Warming
By: Gurkamal

Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. It is caused by gases and pollutants.

Many people know that pollution is the main cause of global warming, but how does pollution heat the Earth?

The answer is the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect explains how pollution heats our planet.

The Greenhouse effect:

The Earth is wrapped in a blanket of air called the 'atmosphere', which is made up of several layers of gases.

The sun gives off radiation that travels through the Earth's atmosphere and reaches the Earth. The rays of the sun warm the Earth, and heat from the Earth then travels back into the atmosphere.

The gases in the atmosphere stop some of the heat from escaping into space. These gases are called greenhouse gases and are usually in smoke and other things that pollute the environment so if there is more pollution, there are more greenhouse gases and if there are more greenhouse gases they can trap more heat.

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) is responsible for the most global warming. Many other gases can trap more heat than carbon dioxide but because there is more carbon dioxide in the air, none of these gases adds as much warmth to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Vehicles such as cars release CO2 into the air. Factories and loss of forests also contribute to more CO2. Factories emit smoke in the air from the machines and trees are being cut down and we need trees to store CO2.

This is called the Greenhouse Effect because it works the same way as a greenhouse. The windows of a greenhouse play the same role as the gases in the atmosphere, keeping some of the heat inside the greenhouse.

There are two types of Greenhouse Effects, the Natural Greenhouse Effect and The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect.

the natural greenhouse effect:

It is completely natural for the atmosphere to have greenhouse gases which trap the heat given out by the Earth, but to make sure that the Earth's temperature remains constant, the balance of these gases in the atmosphere must not be upset.

The main greenhouse gases are water vapour (occurs naturally in the atmosphere), carbon dioxide (produced naturally when people and animals breathe), methane (comes from cattle as they digest their food), nitrous oxide (produced when plants die and rot) and ozone (occurs naturally in the atmosphere).

The enhanced greenhouse effect:

People can produce greenhouse gases by driving cars or using machinery. These gases go to the atmosphere and the balance of greenhouse gases changes which effects the whole planet. The is the enhanced greenhouse effect because it is not natural, humans affect it.

A lot of scientists agree that if we continue polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, it will have very dangerous effects on the Earth.

global warming effects:

Weather:
With more heat trapped on Earth, the planet will become warmer, which means the weather all over Earth will change. For example, summers and winters will get hotter. Currently, the conditions we are living in are perfect for life, and a large rise in temperature could be terrible for us and for any other living thing on Earth.

Global warming has caused shifting in precipitation patterns which will cause some places to be more wet than others.

Change in weather may cause hurricanes and other storms to become stronger and floods and droughts to become more common.

Sea levels:
Higher temperatures will melt glaciers causing the melted water to flow into the sea. This will cause the sea levels to rise. Scientists predict the sea levels may rise as much as 20 to 40 cm, by the beginning of the next century.

Higher sea levels will threaten the low-lying coastal areas of the world. Millions of people and areas of land will be at danger from flooding. Many people will have to leave their homes and large areas of farmland will be ruined because of floods.

Farming:
The changes in weather will affect the types of crops grown in different parts of the world. Changes in amount of rainfall will also affect how many plants grow.

The effect of a change in the weather on plant growth may lead to some countries not having enough food. Many people could suffer from hunger.

Plants and animals:
It has taken millions of years for life to become used to the conditions on Earth. As weather and temperature changes, the homes of plants and animals will be affected all over the world. For example, the polar bears and the seals will have to find new land for hunting and living, if the ice in the Arctic melts.

Many animals and plants may not be able to cope with these changes and could die. This could cause the loss of some animals and plants species in certain areas of the world or everywhere on Earth.

People:
The changes in climate will affect everyone, but some populations will be at greater risks. Coastal regions may see whole populations move inland to avoid flood risk areas. The effect on people will depend on how well we can adapt to the changes and how much we can do to reduce climate change in the world.

As you can see, global warming affects many different aspects of the environment. Global warming will change the Earth and everything on it. To prevent big changes, we must try our best to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

solutions to global warming:

solutions

• Boosting energy efficiency
• Greening transportation
• Using more renewable energy like wind, solar, geothermal,and bio energy
• Reducing use of fossil fuels
• Planting trees

Thank you for listening!!!
I hope you learned something new!!!