![]() The former head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, argues that with trillions of dollars being spent around the world in economic stimulus packages following the COVID-19 pandemic, we need strong commitments to a low-carbon future if the world is to limit warming to 1.5☌ above pre-industrial levels. In a world that is about 1☌ warmer than during pre-industrial times, New Zealand is already facing the environmental and economic costs associated with climate change. What is a pre-industrial climate and why does it matter? If people had not altered the composition of the atmosphere at all through emitting greenhouse gases, particulate matter and ozone-destroying CFCs, we would expect the global average temperature today to be similar to the pre-industrial period – although some short-term variation associated with the Sun, volcanic eruptions and internal variability would still have occurred. Climate in the southern hemisphere has also been affected by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which led to the development of the Antarctic ozone hole. Particulate matter can partially offset greenhouse gas warming, but its climate effects depend on its composition and geographical distribution. Particulate matter in the atmosphere, such as soot and dust, can cause health problems and degrades air quality in many industrialised and urban regions. ![]() While these long-lived greenhouse gases have raised Earth’s average surface temperature, human activities have altered atmospheric composition in other ways as well. As a result of continued increases, the global average temperature has climbed by just over 1☌ since pre-industrial times.Ĭlimate explained: why carbon dioxide has such outsized influence on Earth's climate The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen from about 280 parts per million (ppm) before the first industrial revolution some 250 years ago, to a new high since records began of just over 417ppm. Since pre-industrial times, human activities have led to the accumulation of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere. Without this and the naturally occurring quantities of other greenhouse gases, Earth would be about 33☌ colder and uninhabitable to life as we know it. ![]() The most abundant greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere is water vapour - and it is this gas that provides the natural greenhouse effect. The gases that make up Earth’s atmosphere are mostly nitrogen and oxygen, and small quantities of trace gases such as argon, neon, helium, the protective ozone layer and various greenhouse gases – so named because they trap heat emitted by Earth. If you took a model globe and wrapped it up, a single sheet of tissue paper would represent the thickness of the atmosphere. The diameter of Earth is 12,742km and the atmosphere is about 100km thick. My question is what happens when all the greenhouse gases are eliminated? What keeps the planet from cooling past a point that is good?Įarth’s atmosphere is a remarkably thin layer of gases that sustain life.
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