Why is climate change happening?

Climate change is one of the things that gives a lot of concern in the present time in almost every country in the world. The percentage of greenhouse gas emissions is increasing more and more. Some gases in the Earth's atmosphere act like the walls of a greenhouse: they allow solar energy to enter the atmosphere but prevent it from escaping. Many of these gases are naturally present in the atmosphere, but human activity increases the concentrations of some of them in the atmosphere, in particular:

• carbon dioxide (CO2);

• methane;

• nitrous oxide;

• fluorinated gases.

CO2 is the most greenhouse gas produced by human activities; it is responsible for 63% of global warming caused by humans. Its concentration in the atmosphere is currently 40% higher than that of the beginning of industrialization.

Other greenhouse gases are emitted in smaller quantities, but they retain heat far more efficiently than CO2, and are up to 1,000 times more potent. Methane is responsible for 19% of global warming caused by man, while this proportion rises to 6% for nitrous oxide. (NASA, July 11, 2018)

Human activities such as the use of fossil fuels, the exploitation of forests affects livestock farming exert an increasing influence on the climate and the temperature of the earth, these activities release huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which add to those naturally present in the atmosphere, thus reinforcing the greenhouse effect and global warming.

And the worst thing we as human are doing is deforestation. Where there are forests we are cutting the trees to be able to build houses, roads etc. Not only do we affect the birds by destroying their shelters but also, we decrease the amount of shelter that can contribute to the regulation of the climate by absorbing the carbon dioxide (CO2) of the atmosphere.

Bibliography

NASA. (July 11, 2018). California Institute of Technology.