greenhouse effect

A rise in the earth’s surface temperature caused by heat radiated by the sun that becomes trapped by greenhouse gases; the process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet's surface; the insulating effect of atmospheric greenhouse gases (e.g., water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.) that keeps the Earth's temperature about 60 °F (16 °C) warmer than it would be otherwise cf. enhanced greenhouse effect.

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