Climate change
Weather or climate?
The day-to-day condition of the atmosphere. changes day by day and hour by hour. It is specific to a particular location.
Average weather conditions over longer periods and over large areas. gives the average conditions over a long time and a wide area.
Monitoring climate
Scientists make measurements of climate at thousands of locations all over the world. This allows them to identify patterns and trends in average conditions.
When analysing data, scientists take into account any uncertainties in the measurements.
Climate measurements show that the Earth is gradually warming.
Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the The layers of gases that surround the Earth. The important gases in the atmosphere are nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. has increased in the last 200 years.
This A relationship between two sets of data, such that when one set changes you would expect the other set to change as well. with an increase in the use of Natural, finite fuel formed from the remains of living organisms, eg oil, coal and natural gas.. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Other human activities are causing an increase in the amounts of other The gases responsible for global warming - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). in the atmosphere. For example, methane is released as a result of cattle farming and also from rice paddy fields.
There is a correlation between the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and temperature change - as the concentration of carbon dioxide has increased, the global average temperature has generally increased too.
An increased greenhouse effect provides a The scientific explanation of how one factor can cause a change in another factor. that explains how the increase in carbon dioxide could result in an increase in Earth's temperature.