Why is the climate changing?

The greenhouse effect, glaciers and what we can do

Earth's atmosphere is like a blanket: it lets sunlight in and holds back some of the heat leaving the planet. This is the 'greenhouse effect' — without it Earth would average −18 °C. Carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane and water vapour make up that blanket. The problem is that the blanket is getting thicker.

Since the Industrial Revolution, by burning coal, oil and gas, people have raised CO₂ in the air from 280 to 420 ppm — a level unseen for 3 million years. As a result the planet has warmed by 1.2 °C. Sounds small? The difference between an ice age and today is only 5 °C. The warming is uneven: the Arctic warms three times faster, and Uzbekistan is getting more days of summer heat.

The consequences are visible: glaciers are retreating (the Tian Shan and Pamir glaciers — the water source of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya — have shrunk by 30%), the sea has risen 20 cm, hurricanes and droughts are intensifying. The Aral Sea dried up for a different reason, but it is a lesson in caring for water.

There are solutions: solar and wind power (Uzbekistan aims to get 40% of its electricity this way by 2030), electric cars, planting trees (saxaul on the dry Aral seabed), thrift. What can a child do? Save water and electricity, cycle, waste no food, plant trees — and talk about it. Small habits multiplied by millions change the climate.