We have always been told that global warming is slowly damaging our Earth’s atmosphere. However, does global warming affect beyond our planet? Read to find out…
What is Global Warming?
Global warming refers to the heating-up of the earth’s surface due to human activities (like fossil fuel burning). This heating-up is caused by an increase in greenhouse gases which are responsible for trapping heat inside our earth’s atmosphere. If you didn’t know, without greenhouse gas our planet would be uninhabitable because of its low temperatures. The greenhouse effect acts as our planet’s greenhouse, trapping the heat that the sun provides inside Earth. However, too much greenhouse gas can create unnecessary heat and even cause glaciers to melt!
Global Warming causes and effects
To start out, a big portion of greenhouse gas is made up of CO2. This means that the more carbon-dioxide present on our atmosphere, the more greenhouse gas it will generate. On that note, one of the main causes of global warming is burning fossil fuels since they emit a huge number of CO2 in the atmosphere. Another leading cause is deforestation since fewer trees are there to switch the CO2 to Oxygen. According to WWF, one-fifth of global greenhouse gas pollution comes from deforestation and forest degradation.
Now onto the effects of global warming… The effects of global warming range from simple weather difference to devastating droughts, wildfires, and floods! Due to our earth getting hotter and hotter by the year, it has resulted in extreme weather conditions. Some super dry (droughts and heat waves) to super wet (floods and hurricanes). Global warming can also cause things like rising sea level, melting glaciers, and even disruption of habitats. It is even believed that the extreme heatwave that happened in London was the effects of global warming.
Does Global Warming affect beyond our planet?
Though we don’t know yet if other planets have global warming, it is believed that the greenhouse effect also occurs in Mars and Venus. If you think about it that’s why Venus is so hot, because its atmosphere is mainly made of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas). Global warming has also been proven that is now reaching the upper atmosphere. This may be causing decreased atmospheric drag on satellites and space debris!
Final thoughts
What we do know is that global warming is an issue we should be dealing with it NOW. The effects and impacts are only going to get worse. Let’s not wait to start doing something when our planet has already been cooked. The change needs to happen now!
Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts on global warming.
References
[1] Global Warming vs. Climate Change, NASA
[2] Global Warming 101, NRDC
[3] Causes of Global Warming, WWF
[4] Global Warming Cause Felt by Satellites and Space Junk, space.com
Featured Image From:
Rbkomar via Getty Images
