Global warming
Article
Global warming is the long-term rise in Earth's average surface temperature, especially the rapid warming observed since the industrial era. The principal cause is the increase in greenhouse gases produced by human activities.
Carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning, cement production, and land-use change is the largest contributor, while methane, nitrous oxide, and other gases also add warming. Greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit infrared radiation, reducing the rate at which heat escapes to space.
Evidence includes rising air and ocean temperatures, melting glaciers and ice sheets, declining Arctic sea ice, rising sea level, changing seasons, and shifts in extreme heat and rainfall. Natural variability continues but is superimposed on the human-driven trend.
The magnitude of future warming depends mainly on future emissions and the response of the climate system. Reducing greenhouse-gas emissions limits additional warming, while adaptation addresses impacts that are already occurring or cannot be avoided.
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- Source / publisher: Wikipedia
- URL type: WWW
- Credits: Wikipedia
- URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming