Greenhouse Effect
Air pollution releases an excessive amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide acts as a barrier just like a greenhouse, letting the sun heat in but preventing it to escape, producing what is known as the greenhouse effect. This phenomenon results in warming the general climatic conditions. It is estimated that with the continued present rate of increase in the CO2 content, the mean global temperature could rise by 4°C in the next five decades sufficient to cause partial melting of ice caps in the Antarctic and the Arctic regions of the earth resulting in continental flooding and large-scale devastation
In the last few decades, the climate has been seen as getting hotter and hotter year after year. The greenhouse effect is the heating effect caused by greenhouse gases (mainly C02, CH4, NOx, CFC, etc.) because these gases in the lower atmosphere, act like the glass of a greenhouse trapping some of the heat as it radiates back into space. Such gases and their heating effects have in fact saved the earth from being Barron in the initial periods and survived life on earth as otherwise, the temperature on earth could well have been below freezing, like Mars. But now we don't want this effect to grow further. Excessive quantities of these gases may cause excessive heat, again to make life impossible, like that on Venus, where CO2 is found 60,000 times than that of earth, giving it as high a temperature as 450°C.
It is believed that C02 in the earth’s environment has increased by about 25% during the last decade, along with an annual 1% increase in the release of methane gas in our environment due to large scale industrial and developmental activities throughout the world, their heating effect has increased and is further likely to increase leading to global warming and its consequential adverse effects like rising of sea levels, etc.
Excessive use of petroleum, diesel, coal, and cutting of forest has already compounded this effect because of the increased concentrations of CO2 and NOx in our environment. Likewise, large scale anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in swamps, rice paddies, live stockyards, etc. have been the cause of increased concentration of methane. ‘
Increased concentrations of CFCs are due to our modern lifestyle of using refrigerators and air conditioners etc
The environmental scientist is therefore worried and trying to suggest to the world the ways and means by which emission of increased greenhouse gases can be curtailed.
The earth’s temperature has gone up by 0.5 °C and the water level of oceans has gone up by 10 cm in the last 100 years.
It has also been estimated by scientists that if the present rate of heating continues, then by 2030 the earth’s temperature will go up 1 °C and water level by 20 cm and ' by 2100 the earth’s temperature will go up by 4 °C and water level of oceans by 65cm. Therefore something concrete must be done so that this effect is not escalated further.
Note: Some plant grows under greenhouse. Greenhouse actually means preventing heat to go outside the structure.