Greenhouse Gases

The greenhouse gases are responsible for increasing the temperature of the Earth. These greenhouse gases have the ability to absorb infrared radiation from the Earth. As a result, this energy is released by the gas molecules in all directions which in turn keeps the Earth warm.

The three main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane.

Greenhouse gases are important in the atmosphere to make sure the temperature of the Earth is warm enough to support life as we know it! This is called the greenhouse effect. But the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, such as carbon dioxide from coal power plants; risk causing climate change, making the Earth warmer than it naturally would be. This is known as global warming.

Global warming is just the beginning of major changes to the environment such as the rise in sea levels and melting of the polar ice caps.