How water vapour is greenhouse gas and leds to global warming?
Water vapour is also an effective greenhouse gas, as it does absorb longwave radiation and radiates it back to the surface, thus contributing to warming.The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere exists in direct relation to the temperature. If you increase the temperature, more water evaporates and becomes vapor, and vice versa. When compared to other greenhouse gases, water vapour stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time. Water vapour will generally stay in the atmosphere for days (before precipitating out) while other greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide or methane, will stay in the atmosphere for a much longer period of time (ranging from years to centuries) thus contributing to warming for an extended period of time.The addition of water vapour to the atmosphere, for the most part, cannot be directly attributed to human generated activities. Increased water vapor content in the atmosphere is referred to as a feedback process. This is an example of a positive feedback loop: humans release CO2, which causes warming, which boosts evaporation, which in turn amplifies the warming. Indeed, scientists believe that evaporation is the most important positive feedback loop in the global climate system, doubling or tripling the sensitivity of the climate to CO2 emissions.
Water vapour is also an effective greenhouse gas, as it does absorb longwave radiation and radiates it back to the surface, thus contributing to warming.The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere exists in direct relation to the temperature. If you increase the temperature, more water evaporates and becomes vapor, and vice versa. When compared to other greenhouse gases, water vapour stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time. Water vapour will generally stay in the atmosphere for days (before precipitating out) while other greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide or methane, will stay in the atmosphere for a much longer period of time (ranging from years to centuries) thus contributing to warming for an extended period of time.The addition of water vapour to the atmosphere, for the most part, cannot be directly attributed to human generated activities. Increased water vapor content in the atmosphere is referred to as a feedback process. This is an example of a positive feedback loop: humans release CO2, which causes warming, which boosts evaporation, which in turn amplifies the warming. Indeed, scientists believe that evaporation is the most important positive feedback loop in the global climate system, doubling or tripling the sensitivity of the climate to CO2 emissions.
