why is it called global warming?

Hi Jennifer,

The notion of the Earth freezing comes more from Hollywood studios than from research labs. Films such as ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ depict the onset of a sudden ice-age caused by global warming affecting the ocean currents. The film may be entertaining to watch but it has very little scientific merit.

Global warming is what the name implies – the gradual warming up of the whole planet. This is caused primarily because our modern lifestyles emit a lot of greenhouse gases and these have the ability to trap heat in the atmosphere.

The ice-age notion centres around disruption being caused to some of the ocean currents, and specifically the North Atlantic Conveyor or Gulf Stream. The theory is that the melting of polar ice could disrupt this current and cause it to shut down. If that were to happen then some parts of some countries that border the North Atlantic would cool quite significantly and would see glaciers advance again.

The likelihood of this happening is very small but if it did happen it would be a process that would take several years and would only affect a small proportion of the planet. A lot of work is currently being undertaken into this possibility and perhaps in 10 or 20 years time we’ll have a clearer understanding of the possible outcomes.

The evidence seems to show, if anything at all, a very slight increase in the average global temperature over the last century - something on the order of 0.6 degrees Kelvin. This is so small that it is completely swamped by the normal 20 degrees variation between the high and low temperature during the average day, and the seasonal variances between Winter and Summer. All the data I have seen, if you graphed it on a scale that had temperatures from -25 to +50 Celcius, the last century would be a flat line. Temperatures at the Poles remain well below freezing, so there is zero chance of the polar ice-caps melting and diluting the sea to the point where a shutdown of thermohaline circulation occurs. Global warming is unlikely to have any adverse effects on humanity, and will not cause a new ice age. "The Day after Tomorrow" is science fiction of the sort which is mostly fiction, and very little science.

I am concerned about the future, but my grandchildren have more to fear from the collapse of Western civilisation than they do from the over-hyped fears of Global Warming.

Get over it - there are real problems we can worry about to better effect.

The term "global warming" has arisen because the GLOBAL MEAN TEMPERATURE has increased (or is increasing). Thus globally the Eath's temperature is "warming".

This means that measuring the temperatures across the whole world the the average is that the Earth's mean temperature is increasing (so some places may be cooler, but on average more places are warming or to a larger extent than it is cooling).

Well isn't Global Warming just sooo yesterday. Today it's called Climate Change. It's just fashion dearie. Nothing to worry about, well not for more than the season anyway. Next year it'll be something different.

Our planet Earth has the shape of a sphere or geological globe. Unfortunately, it's warming in the last century & still is currently, so when the temperature rises, it's called global warming since it's warming on the globe.

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Global warming doesn't "cause extremely cold weather". It doesn't prevent cold weather events from happening, but it doesn't cause them.

In the 1970s it was global cooling, and we were going to have another ice age unless Congress and the UN did something NOW.

Then it was global warming. Same recommendation.

Whether it is massive warming, massive cooling, or massive nothinging, the answer is the same: Global government, with total control over the environment. No volcanoes without a permit! Too many uncontrolled cows in India producing greenhouse gasses! 99% of the population of the earth unnecessary! Spay & neuter's not just for dogs! Youth in Asia!

Wade-a-minnit! Put a sock in my mouth or something. I'm starting to sound like one of those wingnuts.

I've been told that if I don't believe in Climate Change Government Control that I must be in the pay of Big Oil. Where is my money? Where do I sign up?

Because the Earth (a.k.a. the GLOBE) is getting warmer.

Don't know where you heard it was going to freeze... Faux news maybe?

actually its now called global climate change because temperatures are fluctuating irregularly

Because a picture of a red earth is scarier than a picture of a blue or white earth.