Our planet receives energy from the sun. Part of this energy, which is not reflected by the atmosphere, is absorbed by the earth’s surface. The increase in temperatures and global warming are mainly due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere …
So if an 8-year-old asks you the question: ” why is the earth warming up? If you have read the previous episodes of Climate Café correctly and if you have conscientiously watched all of my videos, you are probably thinking that the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases the ambient temperature.
It’s true, but it’s not the only thing. You may even be surprised at the multiplicity of direct impacts that I will present to you.
The increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
We saw it in the first article of the series, the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gas (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) in the atmosphere maintains infrared rays in the atmosphere.
More infrared in the atmosphere means more energy left in the atmosphere. And this is theincrease in this energy which has far-reaching consequences on Earth.
But just before we see these consequences on the Global warming, I want to explain to you a technical term that you probably hear about if you are interested in climate change: the radiative forcing.
What is radiative forcing?
Radiative forcing is the measurement of the increase in energy that stay in the atmosphere. More precisely, if we want to be a purist, it is the difference between the energy which arrives on the whole earth / atmosphere and that which leaves there every second.
the radiative forcing is the difference between the yellow arrow minus the red arrow in the diagram.
Since more energy arrives than energy leaves, this is why we speak of radiative forcing.
Now we will see what this increase in energy is for. This is the crux of the climate change because this is where we begin to address the consequences for the planet.
Global warming consequences
This energy that accumulates on our planet has the consequence, in order of importance, of:
- Warm the oceans: 93%
- Melt ice cream: 3%
- Warm floors: 3%
- Warm the atmosphere: 1%
An interesting point to our is that the warming of the atmosphere is that that we perceive the most individually, as a human, especially if you are my age or older. ” I’m telling you about a time that the under 20s… ”As Charlez Aznavour said.
The heatwave of 2003 was unprecedented but was ultimately the first in a long series… Well the warming of the atmosphere represents only 1% of the radiative forcing.
So imagine the impact what it can have on the rest of the planet: oceans, glaciers, soils …
Conclusion
If you only have to remember one thing: greenhouse gases increase the energy left in the atmosphere and this energy causes global warming: first the oceans, then the soil and ice and finally the atmosphere.
I explain the impact of each of these points to you in the following articles in the series.
- The consequences of ocean warming
- The consequences of melting glaciers and sea ice
- The impact of global warming on soils
