This process keeps heat near the Earth’s surface.

Eventually, the vibrating molecules release the radiation, which will likely be absorbed by another greenhouse gas molecule.

The atoms are held together loosely enough that they vibrate when they absorb heat. These gas molecules all are made of three or more atoms. The major ones are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide. There are several different types of greenhouse gases. They radiate the heat back to the Earth's surface, to another greenhouse gas molecule, or out to space. Why do greenhouse gases absorb heat? Greenhouse gases are more complex than other gas molecules in the atmosphere, with a structure that can absorb heat. As the heat makes its way through the atmosphere and back out to space, greenhouse gases absorb much of it. Solar energy absorbed at Earth’s surface is radiated back into the atmosphere as heat. That is warming the climate of our planet. However, Earth’s greenhouse effect is getting stronger as we add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Without the greenhouse effect, Earth’s temperature would be below freezing. The greenhouse effect causes some of this energy to be waylaid in the atmosphere, absorbed and released by greenhouse gases.

Should this happen, the results would be catastrophic: for example, nearly all coral reefs could die out, and sixty million more people could experience severe drought.Īlthough this future may seem far off, climate change is already worsening wildfires in the western United States, intensifying cyclones in Mozambique, and reducing crop production in Vietnam.Energy from the Sun that makes its way to Earth can have trouble finding its way back out to space. Without a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures could even increase by 2˚C (3.6˚F). Scientists warn that human activity will likely raise global temperatures to 1.5˚C (2.7˚F) above nineteenth-century averages by 2050. Heat waves are lasting longer, crop yields are shrinking, and rising sea levels are threatening coastal areas. While 1˚C may seem hardly noticeable on a sunny day, countries are already seeing the severe effects of planet-wide warming at this level. Due in large part to this enhanced greenhouse effect, the world today is more than 1˚C (1.8˚F) warmer than it was in the nineteenth century.

What is the greenhouse effect