How CO₂ warms Earth

Sunlight warms the surface. Earth emits infrared energy. CO₂ absorbs particular infrared wavelengths and transfers energy to surrounding air; greenhouse gases also emit infrared energy in all directions. Increasing CO₂ reduces heat loss to space at a given temperature, so the climate warms until energy balance is restored.

The illustration explains the mechanism. It is not a laboratory measurement or a numerical temperature forecast.

The linked PhET simulation is an external teaching model. Correlation of historical curves is not, by itself, a causal experiment.

Related Reports

• Climate change

Sources and Records

1. NOAA — Greenhouse gases and radiation — Infrared absorption, energy transfer and emission in multiple directions.
2. University of Colorado Boulder — Greenhouse Effect — Teaching simulation of sunlight and infrared radiation; a model, not an experimental measurement.
3. NASA — Causes of climate change — Enhanced greenhouse effect, human emissions and natural influences.

AI generated report by Explorvia.com.