What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is a natural increase in the temperature of the planet as energy from sunlight is trapped by so-called greenhouse gases - such as water vapour and CO2 - that have the ability to absorb and reflect energy.
Short wave solar radiation passes through the clear atmosphere relatively unimpeded, but long wave infrared radiation emitted by the warm surface of the earth is absorbed partially and then re-emitted towards the earth by a number of greenhuse gases (mainly water vapour and CO2) in the atmosphere. Due to these greenhouse gases, much of the radiation does not pass straight into space, but remains to heat up the atmosphere.
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