2011 to 2020- Warmest Decade

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According to World Meteorological Organization, 2011-2020 is the warmest recorded decade ever.

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• Year 2020 was the warmest year exceeding the highest surface temperature recorded in 2016.
• The reason for increase in temperature is that carbon-di-oxide remains in the atmosphere for decades that result into warming of the earth.
• The average global temperature for this year was set at 1.2 degree Celsius, highest since modern temperature recordings began in 1850.
• WMO highlighted that decadal warming trend has been noted since 1980s.
• The main reason for consecutive warm decades is the record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.
• Despite La Nina conditions prevailing, that has cooling effect, year 2020 was the warmest recorded year, not being sufficient enough to break this year’s heat.

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. When the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and some artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

The absorbed energy warms the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth. This process maintains the Earth’s temperature at around 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would otherwise be, allowing life on Earth to exist.

Global Warming

Global warming is the gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere because an inflated amount of the energy (heat) striking the earth from the sun is being trapped in the atmosphere and not radiated out into space.