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Rise in sea levels (cm)
In world's oceans since 2000
Over millions of years, and up to the present time, our climate continues to go through shifts. Some are more dramatic than others:
Climate change is different from seasonal weather changes, like winter or summer or the Rainy Season. Shifts in the climate, results to a long-term change in the weather in a region, lasting for decades or even millennia. Weather changes in a certain place is normal and localized – but the climate of that area should be the same. There shouldn’t be snow in the tropical countries, and in Alaska, it will be weird if you suddenly find tropical weather.
The amount of energy that we get from the sun is just perfect for life. If we were nearer like Venus, we’d burn. If we were farther, like Mars, we’d freeze. We are in the “Goldilocks” zone. Not too near, not too far. It’s just right.
The layer of greenhouse gases that surrounds our planet keeps the planet from getting too warm or too cold. As long as the amount of gases in the atmosphere are in balance, we are protected from the heat of the sun and from the coldness of space.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is said to be the main driver of climate change.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, we have invented and manufactured a lot of things that made us more comfortable. We’ve become technologically advanced. Airplanes, Cars, Ships and other vehicles, they can be found everywhere. A lot of factories sprung up to keep manufacturing the artificial things that we’ve come to rely on. All of this requires vast amounts of energy, and our main source of energy are fossil fuels, mainly coal.
Burning fossil fuels releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing an imbalance in the amount of greenhouse gases – resulting to the greenhouse effect. More heat is trapped in the planet and our temperature on the surface rises. It’s what they call Global Warming.
Read More: Global Warming Definition for Kids
When the climate changes, life as we know it will be entirely different. Here are some of the possible effects of Global Warming.
We can try to reduce our Carbon Footprint in our own small ways.
Read More: What Does Carbon Footprint Mean?
We have a lot of stories about the environment. Visit The World Counts Stories and learn interesting facts about our very own spaceship, Earth.
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