![]() ![]() Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (around 1750) have increased atmospheric methane concentrations by over 150% and carbon dioxide by over 50%, up to a level not seen in over 3 million years. Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 ☌ (0 ☏), rather than the present average of 15 ☌ (59 ☏). The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by water vapor ( H 2O), carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane ( CH 4), nitrous oxide ( N 2O), and ozone ( O 3). What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Radiative forcing (warming influence) of different contributors to climate change through 2019 Three important greenhouse gases are shown symbolically in this image: water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gases trap some of the heat that results when sunlight heats the Earth's surface. Gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation at thermal infrared wavelengths ![]()
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