Unexpected Effects of Global Average Temperature and Climate Change

Are we seeing global average temperature rise as a direct result of human activity? Yes. How much have we raised the global average temperature over the last few centuries? The answer is “too much.” What will be some of the effects of rising global temperature, and climate change? You don’t have to research this too hard to find out — most people already know the answer — it’s our health, well-being, and way of life. If you think global warming is something that doesn’t affect you, think again.

What Causes the Global Average Temperature to Rise?

The global average temperature is rising, but what causes this fluctuation? Along with the increase of the temperature due to greenhouse gases, the temperature varies due to changes in the Earth’s rotation and axis of rotation.

Many factors, including pollution, exhaust gasses and greenhouse gases, can cause the global average temperature to rise. This common knowledge is so widespread that climate change deniers have begun to use the term “global warming” as a pejorative against those concerned with its effects.

The global average temperature is a great way to describe the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere. It is not specific to any one place, but rather a general measurement of the entire planet.

The Global Average Temperature Rises and Falls over Time

In the last 500 million years, for example, there were ice ages when polar regions had so much ice that the sea level was about 400 feet lower than it is today.

The most recent ice age ended about 12,000 years ago. Over short periods of time, there are many factors that can affect temperature, including changes in the sun’s energy output and volcanic activity.

However, over a long period of time — hundreds or thousands of years — only two factors have been identified as causes of long-term climate change: solar energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

There are many factors involved in the global average surface temperature rising. Here are a few:

• The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
• The number of pollutants in the atmosphere
• The amount of energy being emitted from the sun
• The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere
• The movements within tectonic plates

What an Average Temperature Is?

It’s the average temperature when you take the highest and the lowest temperature on any given day of the year.

Earth’s climate is made up of the average temperature over a long period of time. Scientists believe that the earth’s average temperature has risen 2° Fahrenheit (NASA) since 1880.

Global average surface temperature refers to the near-surface air temperature over the land and ocean; it is the basis of comparison between each year.

NASA use this data to monitor surface temperature changes and research and study climate change related phenomena.

The past three decades were the warmest of the last two millennia. Extremes occurred more often and in more regions across our planet.

How Is the Temperature Measured?

The global average temperature is calculated from thousands of weather observations from meteorological stations around the world. The data are collected by almost 200 countries and territories, including Australia.

The observations are quality controlled by national and regional climate offices, who compare them to ensure they are consistent with international standards.

The temperature measurements are then averaged across the world to obtain a single global average temperature. Temperature measurements over land areas include corrections for changes caused by the urban heat island effect.

This is where readings near cities may be warmer than those in rural areas because of the heat generated by buildings and vehicles. These methods have been used to measure global temperatures since 1880.

Before this time, we used data from tree rings (dendrochronology) and cave deposits to reconstruct past climates.

The temperature is measured in a variety of ways, but the two most common are the global annual temperature and the global five-year temperature. The global average temperature is an average of all available temperatures on Earth’s surface above land and sea.

Quarterly and five-year averages smooth out fluctuations that occur from year to year, giving a more exact indication of long-term climate trends than annual averages can provide.

The global five-year temperature is a running five-year average of near-surface temperatures over land and sea areas.

The areas used for calculating the five-year temperature include land areas with at least one complete month of data during 1981 to 2010. And sea areas that are within 25 degrees latitude of continuous coastlines or within 25 degrees longitude of 80 percent of continuous coastlines.

Global Average Temperature and Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gas concentrations have increased substantially since the 1800s, primarily from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation.

Most of this increase has occurred since the 1960s. Global average carbon dioxide concentration is higher now than at any time in the last 650,000 years.

The current rate of increase is 100 to 200 times faster than that of the past 100,000 years.

Climate scientists expect the global average temperature to rise between 1.5° and 6.0° Fahrenheit by 2100.

But no matter what happens, Earth will continue to experience seasons. That’s because our planet is tilted on its axis so that one hemisphere is tilted toward the sun for six months at a time, while at the same time it is moving around the sun.

Even if the North Pole were to warm dramatically, it would only affect temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, or air temperatures in winter, because of that tilt and movement.

Climate change is happening. Nearly all the world’s leading climate scientists agree that human activities, the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, are driving climate change.

Ways to Reduce the Effects of Global Warming

Global warming is a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.

The term global warming is also used to refer to the observed temperatures. It is also now becoming more apparent that our oceans are heating up.

Plankton are affected by carbon dioxide, which lowers their ability to fight against disease and predators.

Plants that thrive in cold waters will die off as temperature increases; thus, causing a food chain reaction.

Global warming has several effects on the biosphere and the few ways to slow down this effect are by reducing your energy usage and using green energy

Our earth is a fragile, living organism that is constantly changing and adapting to its surroundings. All living things on earth exist in a delicate balance called homeostasis that supports an environment with air of the proper temperature, soil of the proper chemical composition, and water of the proper quantity.

This balance has been kept since before recorded time. Today, however, many changes in our atmosphere have occurred due to man-made forces and natural forces.

These changes have led to a considerable increase in the heat-trapping gases emitted into the atmosphere by cars and factories, as well as through sunlight absorbed by those gases.

Although global warming is a very long-term problem, it is important to reduce the effects of this problem where we live and try our best to support the balance in nature.

It is necessary for us to start taking a stand against global warming and use methods that won’t cause any damage to our surroundings.

With global warming now a real threat, the only thing you can really do is try to slow it down by making small changes to your life.

No matter how much we wish it weren’t true, as individuals, we can’t stop global warming. But each of us can make changes to have a positive impact on our planet’s climate.