What Is Global Warming? - Definition, Causes & Effects - Byjus

“Global warming is a gradual increase in the earth's temperature generally due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and ... BiologyBiologyArticleGlobalWarming GlobalWarming GlobalWarmingDefinition “Globalwarmingisagradualincreaseintheearth’stemperaturegenerallyduetothegreenhouseeffectcausedbyincreasedlevelsofcarbondioxide,CFCs,andotherpollutants.“ WhatisGlobalWarming? Globalwarmingisthephenomenonofagradualincreaseinthetemperatureneartheearth’ssurface.Thisphenomenonhasbeenobservedoverthepastoneortwocenturies.Thischangehasdisturbedtheclimaticpatternoftheearth.However,theconceptofglobalwarmingisquitecontroversialbutthescientistshaveprovidedrelevantdatainsupportofthefactthatthetemperatureoftheearthisrisingconstantly. Thereareseveralcausesofglobalwarming,whichhaveanegativeeffectonhumans,plantsandanimals.Thesecausesmaybenaturalormightbetheoutcomeofhumanactivities.Inordertocurbtheissues,itisveryimportanttounderstandthenegativeimpactsofglobalwarming. ForMoreInformationOnGlobalWarming,WatchTheBelowVideo: Letushaveadetailedstudyofglobalwarming,itscausesanditseffects. AlsoRead: EnvironmentalIssues CausesofGlobalWarming Followingarethemajorcausesofglobalwarming: Man-madeCausesofGlobalWarming Deforestation Plantsarethemainsourceofoxygen.Theytakeincarbondioxideandreleaseoxygentherebymaintainingenvironmentalbalance.Forestsarebeingdepletedformanydomesticandcommercialpurposes.Thishasledtoanenvironmentalimbalance,therebygivingrisetoglobalwarming. UseofVehicles Theuseofvehicles,evenforaveryshortdistanceresultsinvariousgaseousemissions.Vehiclesburnfossilfuelswhichemitalargeamountofcarbondioxideandothertoxinsintotheatmosphereresultinginatemperatureincrease. Chlorofluorocarbon Withtheexcessiveuseofairconditionersandrefrigerators,humanshavebeenaddingCFCsintotheenvironmentwhichaffectstheatmosphericozonelayer.Theozonelayerprotectstheearthsurfacefromtheharmfulultravioletraysemittedbythesun.TheCFCshasledtoozonelayerdepletionmakingwayfortheultravioletrays,therebyincreasingthetemperatureoftheearth. IndustrialDevelopment Withtheadventofindustrialization,thetemperatureoftheearthhasbeenincreasingrapidly.Theharmfulemissionsfromthefactoriesaddtotheincreasingtemperatureoftheearth. In2013,theIntergovernmentalPanelforClimateChangereportedthattheincreaseintheglobaltemperaturebetween1880and2012hasbeen0.9degreesCelsius.Theincreaseis1.1degreesCelsiuswhencomparedtothepre-industrialmeantemperature. Agriculture Variousfarmingactivitiesproducecarbondioxideandmethanegas.Theseaddtothegreenhousegasesintheatmosphereandincreasethetemperatureoftheearth. Overpopulation Increaseinpopulationmeansmorepeoplebreathing.Thisleadstoanincreaseinthelevelofcarbondioxide,theprimarygascausingglobalwarming,intheatmosphere. NaturalCausesofGlobalWarming Volcanoes Volcanoesareoneofthelargestnaturalcontributorstoglobalwarming.Theashandsmokeemittedduringvolcaniceruptionsgoesoutintotheatmosphereandaffectstheclimate. WaterVapour Watervapourisakindofgreenhousegas.Duetotheincreaseintheearth’stemperaturemorewatergetsevaporatedfromthewaterbodiesandstaysintheatmosphereaddingtoglobalwarming. MeltingPermafrost Permafrostistherewhereglaciersarepresent.Itisafrozensoilthathasenvironmentalgasestrappedinitforseveralyears.Asthepermafrostmelts,itreleasesthegasesbackintotheatmosphereincreasingtheearth’stemperature. ForestBlazes Forestblazesorforestfiresemitalargeamountofcarbon-containingsmoke.Thesegasesarereleasedintotheatmosphereandincreasetheearth’stemperatureresultinginglobalwarming. AlsoRead: Bergmann’sRule EffectsofGlobalWarming Followingarethemajoreffectsofglobalwarming: RiseinTemperature Globalwarminghasledtoanincredibleincreaseinearth’stemperature.Since1880,theearth’stemperaturehasincreasedby~1degrees.Thishasresultedinanincreaseinthemeltingofglaciers,whichhaveledtoanincreaseinthesealevel.Thiscouldhavedevastatingeffectsoncoastalregions. ThreatstotheEcosystem Globalwarminghasaffectedthecoralreefsthatcanleadtoalossofplantandanimallives.Increaseinglobaltemperatureshasmadethefragilityofcoralreefsevenworse. ClimateChange Globalwarminghasledtoachangeinclimaticconditions.Therearedroughtsatsomeplacesandfloodsatsome.Thisclimaticimbalanceistheresultofglobalwarming. SpreadofDiseases Globalwarmingleadstoachangeinthepatternsofheatandhumidity.Thishasledtothemovementofmosquitoesthatcarryandspreaddiseases. HighMortalityRates Duetoanincreaseinfloods,tsunamisandothernaturalcalamities,theaveragedeathtollusuallyincreases.Also,sucheventscanbringaboutthespreadofdiseasesthatcanhamperhumanlife. LossofNaturalHabitat Aglobalshiftintheclimateleadstothelossofhabitatsofseveralplantsandanimals.Inthiscase,theanimalsneedtomigratefromtheirnaturalhabitatandmanyofthemevenbecomeextinct.Thisisyetanothermajorimpactofglobalwarmingonbiodiversity. AlsoRead: Deforestation Toknowmoreaboutglobalwarming,itsdefinition,causesandeffects,keepvisitingtheBYJU’SwebsiteordownloadBYJU’Sappforfurtherreference. TestyourKnowledgeonGlobalWarming Q5 PutyourunderstandingofthisconcepttotestbyansweringafewMCQs.Click‘StartQuiz’tobegin! Selectthecorrectanswerandclickonthe“Finish”buttonCheckyourscoreandanswersattheendofthequiz StartQuiz Congrats! VisitBYJU’SforallBiologyrelatedqueriesandstudymaterials Yourresultisasbelow 0outof0arewrong 0outof0arecorrect 0outof0areUnattempted ViewQuizAnswersandAnalysis BIOLOGYRelatedLinks ProkaryoticMeaning TissueBiology AcuteDisease LeafStructure WhatAreNeurotransmitters SpinalCordAnatomy CellBiology FertilizerMeaning CellMembraneDefinition CellDivision 23Comments MANOJSHARMA November24,2019at6:38pm nice Reply sourikkundu December15,2019at2:25pm thanksforthehelp.it’sagreathelpfromyoursite Reply Snekharengaraju August8,2020at11:03am IhadreallyincreasedmyscoreinonlineexamsbyreadinginByju’sapp.Thanksforguidingmebyonlinechattingwithmentors.Itisreallyagoodlearningapp. Reply SaanviJamwal August17,2020at12:13pm Thankyousomuchforthishelp.Iwashavingconfusiononthistopic.Butyouhaveclearedmydoubts.Thanks. Reply SrushtiKosurkar September9,2020at5:22pm ThanksByju’s. Reply Aruna September25,2020at5:19pm ThanksforyourhelpByju’s,it’sagoodexplanationofglobalwarming Reply V October13,2020at6:11pm Thanx, BYJU’S Reply AthulMohan November26,2020at9:50am Thanksforthisshortandbestinformation Reply AamitBaranPattanayak December1,2020at12:45pm Thanksithelpedmealot Reply Anitha December16,2020at10:38am ThanksforyourhelpByju’s,it’sagoodexplanationofglobalwarming.It’sagreathelpfromyoursite. Reply RasiqAhmaddar December24,2020at9:22pm Likelywow Reply Nuella January8,2021at8:21am ReallyinterestingIquicklyunderstandonthissite,itincreasesmyknowledge Reply ARCHANA January11,2021at12:03pm HIBYJUS,THANKUSOMUCHITHELPEDMEALOTDURINGMYEXAMS Reply Pradeepkumar January22,2021at7:22pm Igot1strankinmaths,socialscience,andscienceexamsbecauseofyou. ThankYouSoMuch Reply Aliyas January22,2021at9:31pm ThankByjus helpsmeinunderstandingthesearchedtopicmoreaccurately Reply aanya January31,2021at1:58pm Verynice Reply Namirah February10,2021at5:05pm Itwasverynice. 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