Why Does Climate Change?

    There are many main types of climate change that are affecting our world.  Some of them are Global warming, Ozone Depletion, and El Nino.  These all affect our environment and have an impact on the human race as well.

     Climate is the average weather over a designated period of time.  Usually, climate is represented in periods of 30 years.  Average conditions and variability often represent it.  Usually, the climate of a location is determined in terms of temperature and rainfall.

Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.

Without this natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be 33°C lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF ICE AGES?

There are many different ideas about why ice ages occur.  Not one theory can yet be proven as being a concrete reason as to why ice ages occur but below are the most recognised solutions:

• Changes in the earth’s orbit around the sun
• The tilt of the earth’s axis, and if / when they ‘wobble’ slightly
• Radiation, especially solar radiation
• The position of the poles

Other factors that are thought to contribute to the causes of ice ages include:

• Land and sea distribution
• The varying currents of the oceans, and the strength of the currents
• The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as carbon dioxide reduces it can become a key factor
• The presence of a huge amount of water vapour within the earth’s atmosphere