Global Warming: Cause and the Effects

The Earth is surrounded by air which acts like a layer of insulation, keeping heat in, just as a greenhouse. Two gases, carbon dioxide and methane, are very good at keeping the heat in. this is why they are called greenhouse gases. They have been very useful in making the Earth warm enough for human life. But the amounts of carbon dioxide and methane are increasing. The increased greenhouse effect is causing the Earth to slowly warm up. This is called global warming.

Cause of Global Warming:

Heat radiations from the sun passes through the atmosphere and hits the Earth’s surface. Most of the heat is absorbed by the Earth and warms it up. Some of the heat is reflected back. Most of this heat escapes into space.

Some of the reflected heat is trapped by greenhouse gases and reflected back to Earth, causing global warming.

The increase in carbon dioxide is mainly due to burning more fossil fuels, but all over the world trees have been cut down to make space for farming and building homes. Fewer trees means less photosynthesis. Less photosynthesis means less carbon dioxide is taken from the air.

Methane comes from marshy areas, such as where rice is grown, and from cattle as they hiccup and break wind! More rice and more cattle means more methane.

The Effects of Global Warming:                  

In the last 100 years the temperature at the Earth’s surface has risen by about 0.5^oC. That may not seem too much, but if these temperature rises continue, they will cause huge changes.

These are just some of the predictions made by scientists studying global warming:

• More ice in Arctic and Antarctic will melt. This is happening already. Sea levels will rise as the ice cap melts. Low lying areas of the world will flood. Some Pacific islands will be drowned.
• Weather patterns will change. Some area will suffer droughts, and crops will fail. People will starve. There will be more refugees.
• Other regions will have more frequent storms and floods.
• Mosquitos and other insects which live in warm places will spread to new areas, possibly carrying diseases.

The poorest countries will be least able to cope with these changes, so will suffer most.

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