Global Warming vs Greenhouse Effect: Difference and Comparison

As climate change is happening very fast on our Earth nowadays, people have blamed global warming and the greenhouse effect for it.

People do not know that perhaps global warming and the greenhouse effect are necessary for us humans to live on the earth.

And people confuse global warming and the greenhouse effect, but both terms have a very big difference. 

Key Takeaways

1. Global warming is the long-term increase in Earth’s average surface temperature due to human activities, primarily the release of greenhouse gases. In contrast, the greenhouse effect is a natural process where these gases trap heat in the atmosphere, maintaining the planet’s habitable temperature.
2. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor, which contribute to global warming when emitted in excessive amounts.
3. Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes, intensify the greenhouse effect, leading to the negative consequences of global warming, like climate change, extreme weather events, and loss of biodiversity.

Global Warming vs Greenhouse Effect

Global warming refers to the long-term increase in the Earth’s average surface temperature due to the enhanced greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that occurs when certain gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Global Warming is a natural phenomenon of an increase in average air temperatures close to the surface of our planet Earth in the last two centuries.

Since, the midst of the 20th century the climatologists, the scientists who specialize in the field of climate, have congregated comprehensive observations of numerous weather phenomena and of interconnected impacts on climate. 

The greenhouse effect can be understood as a procedure that takes place when the energy of the sun of a planet undergoes the atmosphere and makes the planet warm.

However, the heat is stopped by the atmosphere by going back straight to space. The light of the sun proceeds through the atmosphere of our planet Earth and the surface of Earth gets warm.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Global Warming	Greenhouse Effect
Discovery	The discovery of Global Warming took place in 1896.	The discovery of the Greenhouse Effect took place in 1859.
Founder	Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius is known for the discovery of Global Warming.	Irish physicist John Tyndall is known for the discovery of the Greenhouse effect
Uses	Helps in the reduction of water waste, usage of renewable energy, and so on.	recycling, consumption of organic food, etc.
Rate Increment	Due to global warming, the Earth’s temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit.	The rate of the greenhouse effect has increased by 2 percent.
Cause	Global warming occurs due to an increase in the rate of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the Earth.	The Greenhouse Effect is caused by the atmospheric collection of gases.

What is Global Warming? 

The collected observations show that the climate of the Earth has transformed over nearly every imaginable timescale since the starting of geologic time and those activities of human beings

since at the minimum the starting of the Industrial Revolution have a rapid growth impact over the step and area of present time climate change.

Global warming can also be related to the additional typical phenomenon of climate change, which mentions transformations in the entirely ascribe that elaborate climate.

In inclusion to the transformation in the temperature of the air, climate change also includes transformations to patterns of precipitation, ocean currents, winds, and other factors of climate change.

Ordinarily, climate change can be undertaken as the amalgamation of numerous natural forces taking place over various timescales.

Global warming takes ace when Carbon dioxide (CO2) and various distinct air pollutants accumulate in the atmosphere of our planet and soak up the light of the sun and solar radiation that have rebounded off the surface of the Earth.

Since the appearance or arrival of human civilization, climate change has included an anthropogenic.

The word Global Warming is specifically used to mention any form of Warming of close-surface air during the last two centuries that can be tracked down to causes of anthropogenic.

What is the Greenhouse effect? 

The surfaced warmed-up surface emits heat. The emitted heat is soaked up by the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, ozone, water vapor, etc.

The temperature of our planet Earth would fall down to freezing cold without the greenhouse effect.

Present rooted by humans grows in greenhouse gases trap a significant amount of heat, which results in an increment of warm temperature on the planet Earth over time.

Without greenhouse-gas called Carbon dioxide (CO2), the temperature of our planet Earth would fall down about 59°F (33°C) and will result in extremely cool temperatures on Earth.

Sunlight is one of the major reasons that makes planet Earth habitable. As 30 percent of the solar energy is reflected back in space, the rest of 70 percent of solar energy falls on Earth which is absorbed by the ocean and lands.

Date back to about 800,000 years, when human civilization didn’t even exist, the focus of the greenhouse gases on our planet Earth was between around 200 and 280 parts per million.

However, in the past few centuries, this focus has grown above 400 parts per million.

Main Differences between Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect 

1. The process of global warming may not be needed for Earth’s habitability and cliamte maintainance while the greenhouse effect is needed.  
2. Global Warming results in the retainment of heat on Earth while Greenhouse Effect results in an increment of the temperature of the Earth.
3. In Global Warming, a slow rise in temperature takes place while the rise in temperature due to the Greenhouse effect takes place at a faster rate.
4. Global warming results in rising sea levels, frequent extreme weather conditions, etc. while the Greenhouse effect results in floods, desertification, etc.
5. The absence of global warming may not affect the stability of Earth at a vast level whereas without the greenhouse effect life would not be possible on Earth.

Refrences

1. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maxwell-Addae/publication/323223192_Greenhouse_Effect_Greenhouse_Gases_and_Their_Impact_on_Global_Warming/links/5ab29e670f7e9b4897c5933b/Greenhouse-Effect-Greenhouse-Gases-and-Their-Impact-on-Global-Warming.pdf
2. https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5625979

Last Updated : 18 July, 2023