Heating up Fever is an early and usually reliable sign of illness – one of the first things any doctor looks for when a person is not feeling well. Our planet has a fever Specialist researchers at Britain's University of East Anglia have put together all the available data to produce a temperature chart for the last millennium. The warmest year on record was 1998, while the ten warmest years globally have all occurred in the last decade and half. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also said that most of the observed warming over the last 50 years "is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations." The most significant of these gases is carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). And the single biggest source of it – 37% of all emissions worldwide – is the carbon-rich coal burnt in power plants. The global average temperature has increased by about 0.7°C in the last hundred years, according to the European Env...
A blanket to keep out the cold The Earth’s climate is driven by a continuous flow of energy from the sun. Heat energy from the sun passes through the Earth’s atmosphere and warms the Earth’s surface. As the temperature increases, the Earth sends heat energy (infrared radiation) back into the atmosphere. Some of this heat is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) , water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and helacarbons. The greenhouse effect These gases, which are all naturally occurring, act as a blanket, trapping in the heat and preventing it from being reflected too far from the Earth. They keep the Earth's average temperature at about 15°C: warm enough to sustain life for humans, plants and animals. Without these gases, the average temperature would be about minus 18°C - too cold for higher life. This natural warming effect is also sometimes called the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) CO 2 is the most significant of the ...
Climate Change impacts: Hurricanes In 2004 alone, 9 hurricanes affected the United States causing an estimated US$42 billion dollars in damage. Just one of these storms, Hurricane Ivan, destroyed 89% of the total housing stock in Grenada, with damages estimated to be nearly US$889 million, more than twice the value of Grenada’s Gross Domestic Product. And then came 2005. FIVE Records Broken by 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season: Most Named Storms 26 named storms, exceeding the official name list and moving through the first 5 letters of the Greek alphabet. The United States National Hurricane Center had predicted a large year but estimated only 18-21. Most Hurricanes 14 became hurricanes, meaning that winds exceeded 119 km per hour (74 mph). The previous record was 12 hurricanes in one year. Most Category 5 Storms 5 storms had winds over 249 kph (155 mph). Most Storms Hitting the United States 4 storms made landfall. Most Expensive Hurricane Damage F...
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