Posted on June 26, 2007 in Latest News
Global warming is an important meteorological phenomenon that is causing concern among scientists around the world. They believe that human industrial and economic activity contributes no more than 0.28% to global warming. This includes all sources of pollution, deforestation and fuel burning that results in an increase in the concentration of green house gases thought to be responsible for global warming. The Sun gives all the energy that determines the Earth’s climate. Most weather patterns on Earth are a result of a solar discharge of electric particles in the form of solar winds. The solar energy reaching the sun reduced marginally in the 1980s and then again increased in the 1990s. The increased sunlight could be due to decreased pollution, cloud cover or volcanic activity.
Some of the sunlight is reflected back and a part of it is absorbed by the Earth’s surface. Cloud cover and atmospheric aerosols affect this reflected sunlight termed albedo. Scientists are trying to measure this by studying the sunlight reflected off the moon, as it is an important factor in determining climate change. However it is not well understood and hence researchers cannot properly explain the role of the sun on global warming.
Role of sunspots on global warming
An important viewpoint discusses the role of the sun in global warming. Researchers believe that global warming is related to periods of sunspot activity. Sunspot activity occurs over an eleven-year cycle and scientists studying data over the past decade hold the rising solar brightness responsible for an increase in the Earth’s temperatures. Time periods without sunspots have been cooler as compared to those with sunspot activity. As per new research the Earth is getting warmer as the Sun shines more brightly than it did a thousand years ago. Scientists strongly believe that the 1.5°F rise in temperature over the past century is a result of a brighter sun.
Other researchers feel that over the past two decades the number of sunspots has been constant, but there has been a rise in the Earth’s temperature. This proves that human activity of burning fossil fuels, rise in the amount of greenhouse gases and volcanic activity is also partly responsible for global warming.
Solar variability therefore does play a minor role in global warming as compared to other factors. Hence there is a need for greater study on the sun effect on global warming before reaching any conclusion.
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