Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change

GREENHOUSE GASES like CARBON DIOXIDE, METHANE, and WATER VAPOUR are crucial for maintaining the Earth's temperature by trapping heat in the atmosphere. This is known as the GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

The Greenhouse Effect:

• RADIATION from the Sun reaches the Earth as SHORT-WAVELENGTH RADIATION, which is absorbed by the Earth's surface and then re-emitted as LONG-WAVELENGTH RADIATION.
• Some of this longer-wavelength radiation is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases in the ATMOSPHERE, warming the planet.