Global warming
hideGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century. The IPCC also concludes that variations in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volcanoes produced most of the warming from pre-industrial times to 1950 and had a small cooling effect afterward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 45 scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.
Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that the global surface temperature will probably rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century. The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to the year 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100 even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts. The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with warming being strongest in the Arctic. Other likely effects include increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions, and changes in agricultural yields.
Political and public debate continues regarding climate change, and what actions (if any) to take in response. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A small number of scientists dispute the consensus on global warming science.
For more information about Global warming, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with global warming
'Whitewash' could slow global warming: Peruvian scientist
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 04, 2009 |
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A Peruvian scientist has called on his country to help slow the melting of Andean glaciers by daubing white paint on the rock and earth left behind by receding ice so they will absorb less heat.
Climate variability impacts the deep sea
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60% of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming warn scientists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Statistics experts reject global cooling claims
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.
Poll: US belief in global warming is cooling
Oct 23, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Americans seem to be cooling toward global warming.
Treaty to limit CO2 should be followed by similar limits on other greenhouse pollutants
Oct 22, 2009 |
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When world leaders meet in Copenhagen in December to hash out a treaty limiting carbon dioxide emissions, they should begin planning a future summit to address other pollutants - from soot to ozone - that don't remain in ...
Glacial melting may release pollutants in the environment
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Those pristine-looking Alpine glaciers now melting as global warming sets in may explain the mysterious increase in persistent organic pollutants in sediment from certain lakes since the 1990s, despite decreased ...
Professor calculates a cooler planet
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Some people fight global warming by driving fuel-efficient cars. Others weatherproof their houses or plant trees. Princeton's René Carmona does math. As the United States and other countries around ...
ACS podcast: Grow a garden on your roof to battle climate change
Oct 19, 2009 |
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"Green" roofs, those increasingly popular urban rooftops covered with plants, could help fight global warming, scientists in Michigan report in the latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast ...
Biggest economies try again to strike climate deal
Oct 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The world's 17 biggest and most polluting nations meet in London on Sunday in an attempt to break a deadlock on financing efforts to contain climate change and reducing harmful gases causing global warming.
Television has less effect on education about climate change than other forms of media
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 16, 2009 |
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Worried about climate change and want to learn more? You probably aren't watching television then. A new study by George Mason University Communication Professor Xiaoquan Zhao suggests that watching television has no significant ...
Arctic land and seas account for up to 25 percent of world's carbon sink
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 14, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (8) |
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In a new study in the journal Ecological Monographs, ecologists estimate that Arctic lands and oceans are responsible for up to 25 percent of the global net sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Under curren ...
Temperatures of sea water fringing South Pole were tropical 50 million years ago
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The temperature difference between equatorial and polar sea waters was minimal during the extremely warm 'Greenhouse world' 60 to 50 million years ago. This is the main conclusion drawn by ...
Acidic clouds nourish world's oceans
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 05, 2009 |
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Scientists at the University of Leeds have proved that acid in the atmosphere breaks down large particles of iron found in dust into small and extremely soluble iron nanoparticles, which are more readily used by plankton.
Mystery of Mount Rainier survey marker melts away
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 02, 2009 |
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Is global warming shrinking Mount Rainier? A survey marker atop the Northwest's tallest peak sure makes it look that way.
Planned emission cuts still mean far hotter Earth
Sep 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Earth's temperature is likely to jump nearly 6 degrees between now and the end of the century even if every country cuts greenhouse gas emissions as proposed, according to a United Nations update.
