3. Explain the difference between the greenhouse effect and global warming.
Answers
What is the difference between global warming and climate change? Although people tend to use these terms interchangeably, global warming is just one aspect of climate change. “Global warming” refers to the rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect is how heat is retained by the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases whereas global warming is the increase in average annual temperatures across the globe.
Explanation:
The sun emits heat and light and some of that heat is trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases.
The greenhouse effect occurs naturally. Lately the greenhouse effect has been magnified due to greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere by humans.
Global warming refers to the increase in annual average temperatures across the globe. As the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the planet becomes warmer and warmer on average.
Thus, while the two concepts are strongly related, the two do have slightly different meanings. Global warming is happening due to the greenhouse effect combined with increased greenhouse gas emissions by human activities.