The greenhouse effect is a natural process that occurs on Earth and helps to regulate our planet's temperature. It involves the trapping of heat in Earth's atmosphere by certain gases that act as a "blanket" around the planet. Here is how it works:
1. The Sun emits radiation, including visible light and some ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) radiation, towards Earth.
2. A portion of this incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space by the atmosphere, clouds, and the Earth's surface. The remaining radiation reaches the Earth's surface.
3. When the sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, it gets absorbed and converted into heat, raising the temperature of the surface.
4. As the Earth's surface warms up, it radiates energy back out as infrared radiation, also known as heat.
5. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapor (H2O), present in the Earth's atmosphere absorb a portion of this outgoing heat radiation.
6. The absorbed heat radiation by greenhouse gases gets re-emitted in all directions, including back towards the Earth's surface and back to space. This process is known as the greenhouse effect.
7. The re-emitted heat radiation that heads back towards the Earth's surface serves to keep the planet warmer than it would be without the greenhouse gases. It acts similarly to how a blanket traps your body heat and keeps you warm.
8. This trapped heat helps to maintain a suitable temperature range for life on Earth, making it habitable.
However, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This intensified greenhouse effect is leading to an imbalance, causing Earth's temperature to rise rapidly, a phenomenon referred to as global warming or climate change.
How does the greenhouse effect work?
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