finding out about…
the
greenhouse
effect
Heat from the sun
shines onto the Earth.
It passes through a
blanket of gases in
our atmosphere.
Some of the heat
energy is reflected
back into space.
Some of the heat energy
gets absorbed by the
blanket of gases.
The ‘greenhouse’ gases are essential
to life on Earth. Without them heat
energy would escape back into space.
Earth would be a
very chilly place
with an average
temperature of
-18°C !
The greenhouse gases help to keep
the temperature of the earth in
balance. This process is called the
GREENHOUSE EFFECT.
The gases work a bit
like glass in a
greenhouse to trap in
warmth.
But the earth is
getting warmer and
warmer.
WHY?
Human activities are creating
more greenhouse gases including
carbon dioxide, CO2.
As we burn more
fossil fuels, for
example, the
blanket of
greenhouse gases
becomes thicker.
More greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere mean that more
heat energy is absorbed.
We call this increase
in the temperature
of the earth
‘global warming’.
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