Climate Change Series - 4 stories
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NewsDesertification is greatest threat to planet, expert warns
UN’s top drylands official says people must be paid via global carbon markets for preserving the soil
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NewsSolar influences
The sun is the primary source of Earth’s heat, so relatively small changes in solar output can affect our climate. Satellite observations since the late 1970s have shown a slight decrease in the sun’s total energy output. However, instead of cooling, the Earth has warmed over this period. Also, warming ...
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NewsThe Earth’s natural climate cycle
Over the last 800,000 years, there have been natural cycles in the Earth’s climate, between ice ages and warmer interglacial periods. After the last ice age 20,000 years ago, average global temperature rose by about 3°C to 8°C, over a period of about 10,000 years.
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NewsThe Causes of Climate Change
Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century to the human expansion of the “greenhouse effect”1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere ...
