Global cooling

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Global cooling refers to a decrease in Earth's average surface temperature over a sustained period. Cooling can result from reduced solar energy, volcanic aerosols, changes in greenhouse gases, altered ocean circulation, orbital variations, or changes in land and ice cover.

Earth's history includes many cooling episodes, from short volcanic effects to long transitions into glacial climates. Increasing snow and ice can amplify cooling by reflecting more sunlight, while changes in oceans and atmospheric circulation can redistribute heat.

The term also became associated with public discussion in the 1970s about possible future cooling. Although some scientists investigated aerosol-driven cooling at that time, the scientific literature did not reach a consensus that a new ice age was imminent.

Modern observations show strong global warming caused mainly by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Temporary regional or short-term cooling can still occur, but it does not reverse the long-term global warming trend.

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• Source / publisher: Wikipedia
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Wikipedia
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling