Global Warming

Global warming has been a major concern nowadays, because the average global temperature is
rising significantly for the past few decades than it used to be some hundreds of thousands of
years ago.
Causes ofGlobal warming
There are many reasons for this problem.Scientists, all over the world, have concluded that
greenhouse gases (GHGs): carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, andchlorofluorocarbons, are
the principle culprits for this global warming. These gases are emitted into the atmosphere
mainly by human activitiessuch as increased use of vehicles and mushrooming industries
worldwide. These are the major sources where fossil fuels are used for combustion,which in turn
emit more

in the atmosphere; thus causing increased warmth on the Earth. Besides, methane
is released from landfills, nitrous oxide fromfertilizers, and CFCs from using refrigerators.
Finally, deforestation is also a significant factor for the increasing average global temperature,
since trees play a vitalrole in storing

.

Greenhouse effect
The greenhouse effect is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by
gases in a planet's atmospherewarm its lower atmosphere and surface. On earth, naturally
occurring amounts of greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 C
(59 F). Without the Earth's atmosphere, the temperature across almost the entire surface of the
Earth would be below freezing.The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about
3670% of the greenhouse effect; carbon dioxide (

.), which causes 9

26%; methane(

which causes 49%; and ozone (

), which causes 37%.Clouds also

affect the radiation balance through cloud forcing similar to greenhouse gases.
Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from

, methane, tropospheric
ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. According to work published in 2007, theconcentrations of

and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since 1750.These levels are
much higher than at any time during the last 800,000 years, the period for which reliable data has
been extracted from ice cores.Less direct geological evidence indicates that

values higher
than this were last seen about 20 million years ago.Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-
quarters of the increase in

from human activity over the past 20 years. The rest of this
increase is caused mostly by changes in land-use, particularly deforestation. Estimates of global

emissions in 2011 from fossil fuel combustion, including cement production and gas flaring,
was 34.8 billion tonnesanincrease of 54% above emissions in 1990. Coal burning was
responsible for 43% of the total emissions, oil 34%, gas 18%, cement 4.9% and gas flaring
0.7%In May 2013, it was reported that readings for

.Taken at the world's primary benchmark

site in Mauna Loa surpassed 400 ppm. According to professor Brian Hoskins, this is likely the
first time

levels have been this high for about 4.5 million years.
Over the last few decades, gross domestic product per capita and population growth were the
main drivers of increases in greenhouse gas emissions.

emissions are continuing to rise due

to the burning of fossil fuels and land-use change.Emissions can be attributed to different
regions, e.g., see the figure opposite. Attribution of emissions due to land-use change is a
controversial issue.Emissions scenarios, estimates of changes in future emission levels of
greenhouse gases, have been projected that depend upon uncertain
economic, sociological,technological, and natural developments. In most scenarios, emissions
continue to rise over the century, while in a few, emissions are reduced. Fossil fuel reserves are
abundant, and will not limit carbon emissions in the 21st century.Emission scenarios, combined
with modelling of the carbon cycle, have been used to produce estimates of how atmospheric
concentrations of greenhouse gases might change in the future.
The popular media and the public often confuse global warming with ozone depletion, i.e., the
destruction of stratospheric ozone by chlorofluorocarbons.Although there are a few areas of
linkage, the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduced stratospheric ozone has had a
slight cooling influence on surface temperatures, while increased tropospheric ozone has had a
somewhat larger warming effect.
Effects of global warming
The effects of global warming are the ecological and social changes caused (directly or
indirectly) by human emissions of greenhouse gases. There is a scientific consensus that climate
change is occurring, and that human activities are the primary driver. Evidence ofclimate
change includes the instrumental temperature record, rising sea levels, and decreased snow cover
in the Northern Hemisphere. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th
century is very likely due to the observed increase in human greenhouse
gasconcentrations.Projections of future climate change suggest further global warming, sea level
rise, and an increase in the frequency and severity of some extreme weather events. Parties to
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have agreed to
"stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would
prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."
Solution on global warming
Looking for the solutions, both governments and individuals have their own responsibilities to
save our planet. Firstly, governments can conduct awareness campaigns regarding the
importance of planting trees and using fewer car journeys. And also, they can enact new laws
and impose fine on factories which emit gases beyond the limit. One good example of this is,
banning of CFCs in industrialized countries by 1996 in order to prevent further ozone depletion.
Likewise, for people, they can plant more trees around their neighborhood; they can decide to
either walk or cycle for local trips.Another efficient global warming solution is recycling. Items
such as newspapers, glass and aluminum can be recycled efficiently.

KuldeepSarjeraoPatil
Class-ME Structure I
Mob No-7588469060