Atmospheric Science

• Global warming


  The long-term warming of the planet's overall temperature
• Global warming


  • Pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels
  • As the human population has increased, so has the volume of fossil fuels burned
• Greenhouse effect


  The Sun's rays penetrate the atmosphere, but when that heat is reflected off the surface cannot escape back into space
• Greenhouse gases


  • Carbon dioxide
  • Chlorofluorocarbons
  • Water vapor
  • Methane
  • Nitrous oxide
• Climate change


  • Changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world
  • Sea level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and melting ice sheets and glaciers
• Global warming causes climate change, which poses a serious threat to life on earth in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather
• In 2013 the IPCC reported that the interval between 1880 and 2012 saw an increase in global average surface temperature of approximately 0.9 °C (1.5 °F)
• The increase is closer to 1.1 °C (2.0 °F) when measured relative to the preindustrial (i.e., 1750–1800) mean temperature
• Human beings and human activities have been responsible for a worldwide average temperature increase of between 0.8 and 1.2 °C (1.4 and 2.2 °F) of global warming since preindustrial times
• Most of the warming observed over the second half of the 20th century could be attributed to human activities
• The global mean surface temperature would increase between 3 and 4 °C (5.4 and 7.2 °F) by 2100 relative to the 1986–2005 average should carbon emissions continue at their current rate
• Significant societal, economic, and ecological damage would result if global average temperatures rose by more than 2 °C (3.6 °F) in such a short time
• Such damage would include increased extinction of many plant and animal species, shifts in patterns of agriculture, and rising sea levels
• By 2015 all but a few national governments had begun the process of instituting carbon reduction plans as part of the Paris Agreement
• Should carbon emissions continue at their present rate, the increase in average near-surface air temperatures would reach 1.5 °C sometime between 2030 and 2052
• The global average sea level rose by some 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 inches) between 1901 and 2010 and that sea levels rose faster in the second half of the 20th century than in the first half
• The global average sea level would rise 26–77 cm (10.2–30.3 inches) relative to the 1986–2005 average by 2100 for global warming of 1.5 °C
• Modern global warming is the result of an increase in magnitude of the greenhouse effect, a warming of Earth's surface and lower atmosphere caused by the presence of greenhouse gases
• In 2014 the IPCC reported that concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides in the atmosphere surpassed those found in ice cores dating back 800,000 years
• At the beginning of the industrial age in the mid-18th century, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere were roughly 280 parts per million (ppm)
• By the middle of 2018 they had risen to 406 ppm, and, if fossil fuels continue to be burned at current rates, they are projected to reach 550 ppm by the mid-21st century—essentially, a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations in 300 years
• Climate change


  Broader set of changes that go along with global warming, including changes in weather patterns, the oceans, ice and snow, and ecosystems
• Greenhouse effect


  • A natural process that helps make the Earth warm enough for us to live
  • Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap some of the energy from the sun before it escapes to outer space, warming the atmosphere
• The "ozone hole" refers to a decrease in the layer of ozone gas found high in the Earth's atmosphere, which helps to shield the planet from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays
• The Earth's climate changed many times in the distant past as a result of natural causes, but today's climate change is different because people's activities are the main cause
• Even a one- to two-degree increase in global temperature can lead to a much greater risk of wildfires
• The average temperature around the world is rising, and 2001–2010 was the warmest decade on record
• As the Earth's climate gets warmer over time, most places will experience more days with record high temperatures and fewer days with record low temperatures
• The average sea level around the world has risen by nearly 7 inches in the last 100 years, glaciers all over the world are shrinking, and many bird species are shifting northward
• Any change in the climate of an area can affect the plants and animals that live there
• Things you can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions


  • Turn off the lights when you leave a room
  • Turn off your computer and other electronic devices when you're not using them
  • Drive less. Instead, walk, ride your bike, or use public transportation if you can
  • Use less water
  • Create less waste
  • Recycle used paper, cans, bottles, and other materials
• Visual Impacts of Climate Change Evidence


  • Melting Glaciers
  • Rising Sea Levels
  • Flooding
  • Worsening Drought
  • Supercell Storms
  • Increasing Tornadoes
• Patterns affecting weather and climate of the Philippines
• Weather disturbance

  A term used to describe a change in atmospheric conditions or weather patterns
• Types of weather disturbances

  • Tropical cyclones
  • Intense tropical cyclones
  • Low-pressure areas
  • Very intense tropical cyclones
  • Tropical waves
  • Tropical disturbances
  • Tropical depressions
  • Extra-tropical disturbances
  • Subtropical disturbances
  • Moderate tropical storms
  • Severe tropical storms
  • Zones of disturbed weather
• Weather disturbances


  • Hurricanes
  • Cyclones
  • Thunderstorms
  • Tornadoes
• Tropical cyclone


  Warm-core low pressure system associated with a spiral inflow of mass at the bottom level and spiral outflow at the top level, forming over oceans where sea surface temperature and air temperatures are greater than 26°C
• Typhoon


  A tropical cyclone that occurs in the part of the Northwest Pacific Ocean that is west of the dateline and reaches wind speeds of at least 74 mph
• Hurricane

  A tropical cyclone of that intensity that occurs in the North Atlantic, in the Northeast Pacific east of the dateline or the South Pacific east of the 160th meridian east
• Oceans and seas have great influence on the weather of continental masses