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Climate Change: Causes, Effects & Mitigation

92 cards · 🇺🇸 English

The science of climate change and how to address it.

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Climate change

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  1. 1Climate change
    The ongoing increase in global average temperature and its wider effects on Earth's climate system, driven primarily by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution
  2. 2Global warming
    The ongoing increase in global average surface temperature; a component of climate change
  3. 3Main cause of current global warming
    Human activities, especially burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
  4. 4How much has Earth's average surface temperature increased since the Industrial Revolution?
    Almost 1.5°C (about 2.5°F)
  5. 5Greenhouse gases
    Gases that absorb some of the heat that Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, trapping heat near the surface and warming the lower atmosphere
  6. 6How much more carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere now compared to pre-industrial times?
    Roughly 50% more than at the end of the pre-industrial era, reaching levels not seen for millions of years
  7. 7Main sources of CO₂ emissions
    Burning fossil fuels for energy (transport, manufacturing, heating, electricity), deforestation, and industrial processes (cement, steel, aluminum, fertilizer production)
  8. 8Main sources of methane emissions
    Livestock, manure, rice cultivation, landfills, wastewater, coal mining, and oil and gas extraction
  9. 9How long does methane last in the atmosphere on average?
    About 12 years
  10. 10How is CO₂ removed from the atmosphere?
    Land-surface carbon sink processes (carbon fixation in soil, photosynthesis) remove about 29% annually; oceans absorb 20-30%; long-term removal occurs when CO₂ is stored in Earth's crust over millions of years
  11. 11Greenhouse effect
    The process where greenhouse gases allow sunlight to pass through the atmosphere but absorb heat radiating from Earth's surface, slowing heat escape into space and warming the planet
  12. 12How much warmer would Earth's surface be due to naturally occurring greenhouse gases before human influence?
    About 33°C warmer than it would be without any greenhouse gases
  13. 13Rate of global temperature increase
    Around 0.2°C per decade
  14. 14Warmest year on record
    2024, at +1.60°C (2.88°F) above pre-industrial levels
  15. 15Paris Agreement temperature target
    To keep warming 'well under 2°C'; however, with current pledges, warming would still reach about 2.8°C by the end of the century
  16. 16Carbon budget
    The amount of greenhouse gases that can still be emitted while limiting warming to a certain temperature; for a 50% chance of staying below 2.0°C, emissions after 2023 must not exceed 900 gigatonnes of CO₂
  17. 17IPCC
    Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  18. 18IPCC's projected temperature increases by 2100
    1.0-1.8°C under very low emissions, 2.1-3.5°C under intermediate emissions, or 3.3-5.7°C under very high emissions scenarios
  19. 19Deforestation's role in climate change
    The main land use change contributor to global warming; destroyed trees release CO₂ and are not replaced, removing that carbon sink
  20. 20Albedo
    The amount of sunlight that gets reflected back into space from a surface; lighter surfaces (like ice and snow) have higher albedo than darker surfaces (like forests)
  21. 21Aerosols in climate science
    Airborne particles in air pollution that scatter and absorb solar radiation; they have a cooling effect that has historically masked some greenhouse gas warming
  22. 22Global dimming
    A gradual reduction in the amount of sunlight reaching Earth's surface (observed 1961-1990), primarily attributed to sulfate aerosols from fossil fuel combustion
  23. 23Why has the Arctic warmed faster than other regions?
    Arctic surface temperatures are increasing between three and four times faster due to polar amplification: melting ice and snow flip from reflecting light to absorbing heat, plus local black carbon deposits contribute
  24. 24How much faster has land warmed compared to oceans?
    Land regions have increased almost twice as fast as the global average, because oceans lose more heat by evaporation and can store a lot of heat
  25. 25What percentage of extra heat from global warming has been stored in the ocean?
    Over 90%; the rest has heated the atmosphere, melted ice, and warmed the continents
  26. 26Ocean acidification
    An effect where oceans absorb CO₂ and become more acidic, harming marine life especially organisms with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons
  27. 27Sea level rise
    The increase in global mean sea level caused by thermal expansion of warming oceans and melting ice sheets and glaciers
  28. 28Climate tipping points
    Critical thresholds where a small change can trigger large, often irreversible changes in the climate system, such as melting all of the Greenland ice sheet
  29. 29Permafrost
    Permanently frozen ground in Arctic regions; thawing due to warming releases stored carbon dioxide and methane
  30. 30Last Interglacial
    A period around 125,000 years ago when temperatures were 0.5-1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels and sea levels were 5-10 meters higher than today

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