What Is Global Warming?

The topics of global warming and climate change are some of the most talked about around the world. Global warming will have a major impact in shaping the next several generations of human existence on our planet. From governmental policies implemented to try to combat climate change, to the ways that humans will need to cope with the results of global warming, it’s something that will penetrate every level of our life.

So what exactly is global warming? Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of the air in the Earth’s atmosphere. It’s a by-product largely of the greenhouse effect, in which the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap in more of the sun’s heat. The trapped heat then raises the temperature of the air in our atmosphere, resulting in climate change that can have catastrophic consequences.

The greenhouse effect may not seem like a big deal, after all the temperature increases we are talking about aren’t that large in number, just a few degrees total. However, just this small change can have a massive effect on our planet. Global warming will result in the melting of much of the world’s ice caps, which will produce a dramatic rise in sea levels globally. This endangers the coastlines and cities of many different countries, including massive cities such as New York which could be almost entirely underwater as a result of higher sea levels.

In other areas, increases in temperatures can raise them to dangerous levels that could threaten crops, other animals and humans themselves. Already animals have been losing their habitats and have been facing dramatic problems. Harmful pests and insects have spread to areas they have never been before because the additional heat allows them to thrive. This has been harmful to plant life including forests and farm grown crops. The effects of global warming are very real and the climate change it causes, even just a few degrees, is very serious.