Our earth: the changes & impacts of global warming.
Impacts of global warming can be seen all around the world. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels, stronger storms and higher floods. Why does the climate change? The Earth’s climate is driven by a continuous flow of heat energy from the sun. This heat energy from the sun passes through the Earth’s atmosphere and warms the Earth’s surface.As the temperature increases, the Earth sends heat energy (infrared radiation) back into the atmosphere. Some of this heat is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and halocarbons.These naturally occurring gases, act as a blanket, trapping in the heat and preventing it from being reflected too far from the Earth. And keep the Earth's average temperature at about 15°C: warm enough to sustain life for humans, plants and animals. Without these gases, the average temperature would be about -18°C... too cold for most life forms. This natural warming effect is also sometimes called the “greenhouse effect”.The climate changes everything. The earth’s climate plays a major part in our environmental system that even minor changes have impacts that are large and complex.