The Earth’s surface absorbs roughly 70 % of the sun’s radiation and the remaining 30% is released in the atmosphere (World Meteorological Organization, n.d.). The percentage of ultraviolet rays absorbed by the Earth will then be radiated. Part of it will be absorbed by greenhouse gases and radiated into different directions and causes heat to be trapped by the atmosphere. According to the organization, if there was no greenhouse effect, the temperature of the Earth’s surface will be – 18°C , however the Earth surfaces is at 14°C. The increase in greenhouse gases makes the Earth’s atmosphere hotter. This is known as global warming which we are experiencing to this day. This effect is continuously experienced because of the human activities that increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Some activities include burning of fossils, plastic production, deforestation, pharmaceutics, aviation and more. Due to global warming we experience weather crises and more environmental problems. We need to lessen the deterioration of the Earth due to global warming by implementing solutions in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
If you would like to read our collaboration project that gets into more details on reducing GHG emissions or would like to watch a video of our presentation on the topic, please check out the links below:
