Attribution of recent climate change

The scientific community has been investigating the causes of current climate change for decades. After thousands of studies, the scientific consensus is that it is "unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land since pre-industrial times. " This consensus is supported by around 200 scientific organizations worldwide.

The scientific principle underlying current climate change is the greenhouse effect, which provides that greenhouse gases pass sunlight that heats the earth, but trap some of the resulting heat that radiates from the planet's surface.
Large amounts of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane have been released into the atmosphere through burning of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution.
Indirect emissions from land use change, emissions of other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide, and increased concentrations of water vapor in the atmosphere, also contribute to climate change.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0