Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, which makes the Earth
warmer. People are adding several types of greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases come from all sorts of everyday activities,
such as using electricity, heating our homes, and driving around town.
The graph to the right shows which activities produce the most
greenhouse gases in the United States.
These greenhouse gases don't just stay in one place after they're added to the atmosphere. As air moves around the world, greenhouse gases become globally mixed, which means the concentration of a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide is roughly the same no matter where you measure it. Even though some countries produce more greenhouse gases than others, emissions from every country contribute to the problem. That's one reason why climate change requires global action. The graph below shows how the world's total greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to increase every year.
Water can take the form of an invisible gas called water vapor.
Water vapor is naturally present in the atmosphere and has a strong
effect on weather and climate.
As the planet gets warmer, more water evaporates from the Earth's surface and becomes vapor in the atmosphere. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas, so more water vapor in the atmosphere leads to even more warming. This is an example of a positive feedback loop, which happens when warming causes changes that lead to even more warming.
People produce larger amounts of some greenhouse gases than
others. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas you hear people talk about
the most. That's because we produce more carbon dioxide than any other
greenhouse gas, and it's responsible for most of the warming.
Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas emitted
by humans, but several other gases contribute to climate change, too. Learn more about the major greenhouse gases by selecting pieces of the pie chart below.
The size of each piece of the pie
represents the amount of warming that each gas is currently causing in
the atmosphere as a result of emissions from people's activities.
These greenhouse gases don't just stay in one place after they're added to the atmosphere. As air moves around the world, greenhouse gases become globally mixed, which means the concentration of a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide is roughly the same no matter where you measure it. Even though some countries produce more greenhouse gases than others, emissions from every country contribute to the problem. That's one reason why climate change requires global action. The graph below shows how the world's total greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to increase every year.
Water Vapor: It's a Gas!
Water can take the form of an invisible gas called water vapor.
Water vapor is naturally present in the atmosphere and has a strong
effect on weather and climate.As the planet gets warmer, more water evaporates from the Earth's surface and becomes vapor in the atmosphere. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas, so more water vapor in the atmosphere leads to even more warming. This is an example of a positive feedback loop, which happens when warming causes changes that lead to even more warming.
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