Weather & Seasons
Why is the climate changing today?
The short answer
Earth receives energy from the Sun and releases heat to space. Greenhouse gases affect that release. Human activities, especially burning coal, oil and gas, have added more of these gases to the air, increasing warming.
A cold day does not cancel this long-term change.
See how it works
Yellow: sunlight. Orange: thermal radiation. Purple circles: greenhouse gases imagined greatly enlarged. Air is not a solid shell.
1. Energy arrives
Sunlight warms land and water; some is reflected away. The warmed Earth releases energy as invisible thermal radiation.
2. Gases play a part
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide absorb some thermal radiation and emit energy again, including towards the ground. The natural greenhouse effect is part of Earth.
3. People add gases
Burning coal, oil and natural gas adds carbon dioxide to the air. Other activities also change greenhouse gases and landscapes. Current global warming is mainly human-caused.
4. Earth takes in more energy
Extra greenhouse gases initially cause Earth to release less energy to space than it absorbs. Earth therefore warms. Oceans, ice and rainfall change too. Long measurement records help reveal these changes.
An imagined Wusel scene
Puschel and Flauschi investigate
At the museum, Puschel points to a snow scene: “So everything is cold again?” Flauschi compares the long-term records beside it. He notices that one scene cannot replace a trend across many years.
Word help
- Greenhouse gas
- A gas that can absorb and emit thermal radiation.
- Energy balance
- A comparison of energy received and energy released.
Your activity
Compare simple flow pictures: energy coming to Earth and energy leaving it. Add a card for extra greenhouse gases. This illustrates the process; a drawing cannot calculate an exact temperature rise.
Quiz: understand the idea
What especially contributes to today’s additional warming?
Choose a), b) or c), then explain your choice.
- a)Only the heat from one hot summer.
- b)Extra greenhouse gases from human activities.
- c)Only the changing seasons.
Show the explanation
Correct: b): Extra greenhouse gases from human activities.
Extra greenhouse gases affect heat release. They do not form a solid, completely sealed blanket.
Try a new example
What observations help check a climate trend?
Choose a), b) or c), then explain your choice.
- a)The highest temperature on a single day.
- b)Several photos of one landscape on one afternoon.
- c)Long records with many suitable observations.
Show the explanation
Correct: c): Long records with many suitable observations.
Several long reliable records can reveal trends. One daily picture is not enough.
Word help
- atmosphere
- The gas layer around a world; on Earth it is the air above us.
- greenhouse effect
- Gases in an atmosphere make it harder for heat to escape into space.
Explore in more detail
Here you will find longer explanations and further details. You can explore them together.
More to discover
Not a solid glass dome
Air is not a glass roof. Greenhouse gases affect thermal radiation. An actual greenhouse also restricts the exchange of warm air with its surroundings. The name “greenhouse effect” is a comparison, not a literal construction plan for the atmosphere.
Pictures and sources for adults
Sources
Museum scene: AI-generated illustration, checked separately from the factual diagram. The diagrams simplify the process. Editorial source check: 19 October 2026.