How Does the Greenhouse Effect Work?

The greenhouse effect is like having a blanket around Earth. When the Sun shines, it warms up our planet, and Earth sends some of that heat back into space as infrared light. But the blanket, made of gases in the air, traps some of that heat, keeping us warm enough to live on.

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Examples

Imagine Earth is like a room with a window: sunlight comes in, and some heat escapes back out, but if you hang a blanket over the window, less heat leaves.
Think of your car on a sunny day, after you park it, the inside gets hot because the sunlight comes through the windows, but the heat can't escape as quickly.
Wearing a sweater on a cool day keeps you warm, just like how Earth’s atmosphere acts as a blanket to keep it warm.

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Categories: Environment · greenhouse effect· climate science· earth's atmosphere