query: temperature under the ice is fixed at -2C.  Thus elevated winter   air temperatures

positive: Earth Earth ( from Eorðe -LSB- Γαῖα , Gaia -RSB- Terra ) , otherwise known as the World or the Globe , is the third planet from the Sun and the only object in the Universe known to harbor life . It is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest of the four terrestrial planets .   According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence , Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago . Earth 's gravity interacts with other objects in space , especially the Sun and the Moon , Earth 's only natural satellite . During one orbit around the Sun , Earth rotates about its axis over 365 times ; thus , an Earth year is about 365.26 days long . Earth 's axis of rotation is tilted , producing seasonal variations on the planet 's surface . The gravitational interaction between the Earth and Moon causes ocean tides , stabilizes the Earth 's orientation on its axis , and gradually slows its rotation .   Earth 's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years . About 71 % of Earth 's surface is covered with water , mostly by its oceans . The remaining 29 % is land consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes , rivers and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere . The majority of Earth 's polar regions are covered in ice , including the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the Arctic ice pack . Earth 's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core , a liquid outer core that generates the Earth 's magnetic field , and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics .   Within the first billion years of Earth 's history , life appeared in the oceans and began to affect the Earth 's atmosphere and surface , leading to the proliferation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms . Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.1 billion years ago . Since then , the combination of Earth 's distance from the Sun , physical properties , and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive . In the history of the Earth , biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion , occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events . Over 99 % of all species that ever lived on Earth are extinct . Estimates of the number of species on Earth today vary widely ; most species have not been described . Over 7.4 billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and minerals for their survival . Humans have developed diverse societies and cultures ; politically , the world has about 200 sovereign states .

positive: Precipitation In meteorology , precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity . The main forms of precipitation include drizzle , rain , sleet , snow , graupel and hail . Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor , so that the water condenses and `` precipitates '' . Thus , fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions , because the water vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate . Two processes , possibly acting together , can lead to air becoming saturated : cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air . Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud . Short , intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called `` showers . ''   Moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain . This process is typically active when freezing rain is occurring . A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain and serves as the foci for forcing and rising air . Provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content , the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds , namely stratus and cumulonimbus . Eventually , the cloud droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops and descend toward the Earth where they will freeze on contact with exposed objects . Where relatively warm water bodies are present , for example due to water evaporation from lakes , lake-effect snowfall becomes a concern downwind of the warm lakes within the cold cyclonic flow around the backside of extratropical cyclones . Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy . Thundersnow is possible within a cyclone 's comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands . In mountainous areas , heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation . On the leeward side of mountains , desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating . The movement of the monsoon trough , or intertropical convergence zone , brings rainy seasons to savannah climes .   Precipitation is a major component of the water cycle , and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet . Approximately 505000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year ; 398000 km3 of it over the oceans and 107000 km3 over land . Given the Earth 's surface area , that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 mm , but over land it is only 715 mm . Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes .   Precipitation may occur on other celestial bodies , e.g. when it gets cold , Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost , rather than rain or snow .

positive: Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station The Amundsen -- Scott South Pole Station is a United States scientific research station at the South Pole , the southernmost place on the Earth . The station is located on the high plateau of Antarctica at an elevation of 2,835 metres ( 9,301 feet ) above sea level and is administered by the Division of Polar Programs within the National Science Foundation under the United States Antarctic Program ( USAP ) .   The original Amundsen -- Scott Station was built by Navy Seabees for the Federal government of the United States during November 1956 , as a part of its commitment to the scientific goals of the International Geophysical Year ( IGY ) , an international effort lasting from January 1957 through June 1958 , to study , among other things , the geophysics of the polar regions of Earth .   Before November 1956 , there was no permanent human structure at the South Pole , and very little human presence in the interior of Antarctica at all . The few scientific stations in Antarctica were located on and near its seacoast . The station has been continuously occupied since it was built . The Amundsen -- Scott Station has been rebuilt , demolished , expanded , and upgraded several times since 1956 .   Since the Amundsen -- Scott Station is located at the South Pole , it is at the only place on the land surface of the Earth where the Sun is continuously up for six months and then continuously down for six months . ( The only other such place is at the North Pole , on the sea ice in the middle of the Arctic Ocean . ) Thus , during each year , this station experiences one extremely long `` day '' and one extremely long `` night '' . During the six-month `` day '' , the angle of elevation of the Sun above the horizon varies continuously . The Sun rises on the September equinox , reaches its maximum angle above the horizon on the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere , around December 20 , and sets on the March equinox .   During the six-month `` night '' , it gets extremely cold at the South Pole , with air temperatures sometimes dropping below -73 ° C . This is also the time of the year when blizzards , sometimes with gale-force winds , strike the Amundsen -- Scott Station . The continuous period of darkness and dry atmosphere make the station an excellent place from which to make astronomical observations , although the Moon is up for two weeks of every 27.3 days .   The number of scientific researchers and members of the support staff housed at the Amundsen -- Scott Station has always varied seasonally , with a peak population of about 200 in the summer operational season from October to February . In recent years the winter-time population has been around 50 people .

positive: Winter storm A winter storm is an event in which varieties of precipitation are formed that only occur at low temperatures , such as snow or sleet , or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are low enough to allow ice to form ( i.e. freezing rain ) . In temperate continental climates , these storms are not necessarily restricted to the winter season , but may occur in the late autumn and early spring as well . Very rarely , they may form in summer , though it would have to be an abnormally cold summer , such as the summer of 1816 in the Northeast United States of America .

positive: Climate Climate is the statistics of weather , usually over a 30-year interval . It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature , humidity , atmospheric pressure , wind , precipitation , atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time . Climate differs from weather , in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region .   A region 's climate is generated by the climate system , which has five components : atmosphere , hydrosphere , cryosphere , lithosphere , and biosphere .   The climate of a location is affected by its latitude , terrain , and altitude , as well as nearby water bodies and their currents . Climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables , most commonly temperature and precipitation . The most commonly used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification . The Thornthwaite system , in use since 1948 , incorporates evapotranspiration along with temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying biological diversity and how climate change affects it . The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region .   Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates . Since direct observations of climate are not available before the 19th century , paleoclimates are inferred from proxy variables that include non-biotic evidence such as sediments found in lake beds and ice cores , and biotic evidence such as tree rings and coral . Climate models are mathematical models of past , present and future climates . Climate change may occur over long and short timescales from a variety of factors ; recent warming is discussed in global warming . Global warming results in redistributions . For example , `` a 3 ° C change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately 300 -- 400 km in latitude ( in the temperate zone ) or 500 m in elevation . Therefore , species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones '' .

negative: High-temperature operating life High-temperature operating life ( HTOL ) is a reliability test applied to integrated circuits ( ICs ) to determine their intrinsic reliability . This test stresses the IC at an elevated temperature , high voltage and dynamic operation for a predefined period of time . The IC is usually monitored under stress and tested at intermediate intervals . This reliability stress test is sometimes referred to as a `` lifetime test '' , `` device life test '' or `` extended burn in test '' and is used to trigger potential failure modes and assess IC lifetime .   There are several types of HTOL :    AEC Documents .  JEDEC Standards .  Mil standards .

negative: Corona poling Corona poling is a technique in optoelectronics .   Corona discharge is a partial breakdown of air , usually at atmospheric pressure , and is initiated by a discharge in an inhomogeneous electric field ( see Figure 1 ) . Corona discharge has been used to pole films of electro-optic materials to enhance their electro-optic properties .   Although corona poling can be performed at room temperature , poling at elevated temperature has several advantages . For example , raising the temperature in a polymer guest-host system close to its glass-rubber transition temperature before poling increases the mobility of the guest molecules and allows rotation to occur during poling . If during poling the temperature is lowered well below the transition temperature , the guest molecules are fixed in their new orientation .   Category : Optoelectronics

negative: Mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in a mountainous area . The term includes ski resorts , where winter sports , including skiing , snowboarding , ice climbing and ice skating are practiced , as well as places where summer activities such as mountain biking , mountain boarding , and hiking are pursued . In hot climates hill and mountain resorts are visited for the cooler temperatures at higher elevations .

negative: Lower flammable limit Lower flammability limit ( LFL ) , usually expressed in volume per cent , is the lower end of the concentration range over which a flammable mixture of gas or vapour in air can be ignited at a given temperature and pressure . The flammability range is delineated by the upper and lower flammability limits . Outside this range of air/vapor mixtures , the mixture can not be ignited ( unless the temperature and pressure are increased ) . The LFL decreases with increasing temperature ; thus , a mixture that is below its LFL at a given temperature may be ignitable if heated sufficiently .  For liquids , the LFL is typically close to the saturated vapor concentration at the flash point , however , due to differences in the liquid properties , the relationship of LFL to flash point ( which is also dependent on the test apparatus ) is not fixed and some spread in the data usually exists .   The of a mixture can be evaluated using the Le Chatelier mixing rule , if the of the components are known :   Where is the lower flammability of the mixture , is the lower flammability of the - th component of the mixture , and is the molar fraction of the - th component of the mixture .

negative: List of cities in Russia by average winter temperature The following table lists the average winter temperature in the 25 largest  cities in Russia . Population and rank are from the All-Russian census of 2002 .  Average winter temperatures are from the references cited on each line .

negative: Scale of temperature Scale of temperature is a way to measure temperature quantitatively . Empirical scales measure the quantity of heat in a system in relation to a fixed parameter , a thermometer . They are not absolute measures , that is why scales vary . Absolute temperature is thermodynamic temperature because it is directly related to thermodynamics . It is the Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics that leads to a formal definition of thermodynamic temperature .

negative: Climate of Cebu The Climate of Cebu is a tropical wet and dry climate . There are two seasons in Cebu - the wet season and the dry season . Cebu has three different climates , based on the distribution of rainfall , with the most prevalent ones being Am and Af and a very minor area of Aw .  Based on temperature , the warmest months of the year are March through October ; the winter monsoon brings cooler air from November to February . May is the warmest month , and January , the coolest .   All typically tropical temperature at sea level or low-elevation have a temperature range over the year is less than three degrees Celsius ( 5.4 degree F ) , and annual rainfall exceeds 1,500 millimetres ( 60 in ) .

negative: Climate of Ecuador The climate of Ecuador varies by region , due to differences in elevation and , to a degree , in proximity to the equator .   The coastal lowlands in the western part of Ecuador are typically warm with temperatures in the region of 25 ° C. Coastal areas are affected by ocean currents and between January and April are hot and rainy .   The weather in Quito is consistent with that of a subtropical highland climate . The city has barely any cool air since it is close to the equator . The average temperature during the day is 66 F , which generally falls to an average of 50 F at night . The average temperature annually is 64 F . There are only really two obvious seasons in the city : dry and wet . The dry season ( summer ) runs from June to September and the wet season ( winter ) is from October to May . As most of Ecuador is in the southern hemisphere , June to September is considered to be winter , and winter is generally the dry season in warm climates . Spring , summer , and fall are generally the `` wet seasons '' while winter is the dry ( with the exception of the first month of fall being dry ) .

negative: Temperature (disambiguation) Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold .   Closely related are :  Thermodynamic temperature  Color temperature  Effective temperature  Normal human body temperature   The term may also refer to :  Noise temperature , a measure of the noise of an electronic component .  Temperature ( game theory ) , a measure of the value of a game to its players .  Temperature ( meat ) , or doneness , a description of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is  Fever , pyrexia , or having a temperature , the elevation of the body temperature .

negative: Airport reference temperature Airport reference temperature is defined as the monthly mean of average daily temperature ( Ta ) for the hottest month of the year plus one-third the difference of this temperature ( Ta ) and the monthly mean of the maximum daily temperature ( Tm ) for the same month of the year .   Thus airport reference temperature is

negative: Mount Logan Mount Logan -LSB- ˈloʊgən -RSB- is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America , after Denali . The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan , a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada ( GSC ) . Mount Logan is located within Kluane National Park Reserve in southwestern Yukon , less than 40 km north of the Yukon/Alaska border . Mount Logan is the source of the Hubbard and Logan Glaciers . Logan is believed to have the largest base circumference of any non-volcanic mountain on Earth ( a large number of shield volcanoes are much larger in size and mass ) , including a massif with eleven peaks over 5000 m.   Due to active tectonic uplifting , Mount Logan is still rising in height . Before 1992 , the exact elevation of Mount Logan was unknown and measurements ranged from 5959 to . In May 1992 , a GSC expedition climbed Mount Logan and fixed the current height of 5959 m using GPS .   Temperatures are extremely low on and near Mount Logan . On the 5,000 m high plateau , air temperature hovers around -45 C in the winter and reaches near freezing in summer with the median temperature for the year around -27 C. Minimal snow melt leads to a significant ice cap , reaching almost 300 m in certain spots .

negative: List of cities by temperature This is a list of cities by average temperature ( monthly and yearly ) . The temperatures listed are averages of the daily highs and lows . Thus , the actual daytime temperature in a given month will be 2 to higher than the temperature listed here , depending on how large the difference between daily highs and lows is .

negative: Renland Renland is a peninsula in eastern Greenland . It is a part of the Sermersooq municipality . Despite its proximity to the coast Renland has an ice cap climate with cold and bitter winters and very low high temperatures in the summer .

negative: Climate of Mexico The climate of Mexico is highly varied . The Tropic of Cancer effectively divides the country into temperate and tropical zones . Land north of the twenty-fourth parallel experiences cooler temperatures during the winter months . South of the twenty-fourth parallel , temperatures are fairly constant year round and vary solely as a function of elevation . The north of the country generally receives less precipitation than the south .

negative: Climate of North Dakota North Dakota 's climate is typical of a continental climate with cold winters and warm-hot summers . The state 's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States , and each of the four seasons has its own distinct characteristics . The eastern half of the state has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ) with warm to hot , somewhat humid summers and cold , windy winters , while the western half has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ) with less precipitation and less humidity but similar temperature profiles . The areas east of the Missouri River get slightly colder winters , while those west of the stream get higher summer daytime temperatures . In general , the diurnal temperature difference is prone to be more significant in the west due to higher elevation and less humidity .

negative: Hypsometry Hypsometry ( from Greek ὕψος , hupsos , `` height '' and μέτρον , metron , `` measure '' ) is the measurement of land elevation relative to sea level . Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent . A hypsometer is an instrument used in hypsometry , which estimates the elevation by boiling water -- water boils at different temperatures depending on the air pressure , and thus altitude .   On Earth , the elevations can take on either positive or negative ( below sea level ) values , and are bimodal due to the contrast between the continents and oceans . On other planets within this solar system , elevations are typically unimodal , owing to the lack of oceans on those bodies .

negative: Sol-air temperature Sol-air temperature ( Tsol-air ) is a variable used to calculate cooling load of a building and determine the total heat gain through exterior surfaces . It is an improvement over :     Where :   = rate of heat transfer -LSB- W -RSB-  = heat transfer surface area -LSB- m ² -RSB-  = heat transfer coefficient for radiation ( long wave ) and convection -LSB- W/m ² K -RSB-  = outdoor surroundings ' temperature -LSB- ° C -RSB-  = outside surface temperature -LSB- ° C -RSB-   The above equation only takes into account the temperature differences and ignores two important parameters , being 1 ) solar radiative flux ; and 2 ) infrared exchanges from the sky . The concept of Tsol-air was thus introduced to enable these parameters to be included within an improved calculation . The lower formula results :   Where :   = solar radiation absorptivity ( surface solar absorptance or the inverse of the solar reflectance of a material ) -LSB- - -RSB-  = global solar irradiance ( i.e. total solar radiation incident on the surface ) -LSB- W/m ² -RSB-  = extra infrared radiation due to difference between the external air temperature and the apparent sky temperature . This can be written as -LSB- W/m ² -RSB-   The product just found can now be used to calculate the amount of heat transfer per unit area , as below :   An equivalent , and more useful equation for the net heat loss across the whole construction is :   Where :  = construction U-value , according to ISO 6946 -LSB- W/m ² K -RSB- .  = indoor temperature -LSB- ° C -RSB-  = difference between outside dry-bulb air temperature and sky mean radiant temperature -LSB- ° C -RSB-  = Form factor between the element and the sky -LSB- - -RSB-  = 1 for an unshaded horizontal roof  = 0,5 for an unshaded vertical wall  = external radiative heat transfer coefficient -LSB- W/m ² K -RSB-   By expanding the above equation through substituting the following heat loss equation is derived :   The above equation is used for opaque facades in , and renders intermediate calculation of unnecessary . The main advantage of this latter approach is that it avoids the need for a different outdoor temperature node for each facade . Thus , the solution scheme is kept simple , and the solar and sky radiation terms from all facades can be aggregated and distributed to internal temperature nodes as gains/losses .

negative: Exhaust gas temperature gauge An exhaust gas temperature gauge ( EGT gauge ) is a meter used to monitor the exhaust gas temperature of an internal combustion engine in conjunction with a thermocouple-type pyrometer . EGT gauges are found in certain cars and aeroplanes . By monitoring EGT , the driver or pilot can get an idea of the vehicle 's air-fuel ratio .   At a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio , the exhaust gas temperature is different from that in a lean or rich air-fuel ratio . At rich air-fuel ratio , the exhaust gas temperature either increases or decreases depending on the fuel . High temperatures ( typically above 1600 F ) can be an indicator of dangerous conditions that can lead to catastrophic engine failure .

negative: Medical thermometer A medical thermometer is used for measuring human or animal body temperature . The tip of the thermometer is inserted into the mouth under the tongue ( oral or sub-lingual temperature ) , under the armpit ( axillary temperature ) , or into the rectum via the anus ( rectal temperature ) .

negative: Noise temperature In electronics , noise temperature is one way of expressing the level of available noise power introduced by a component or source . The power spectral density of the noise is expressed in terms of the temperature ( in kelvins ) that would produce that level of Johnson -- Nyquist noise , thus :   where :   is the power ( in watts )  is the total bandwidth ( Hz ) over which that noise power is measured  is the Boltzmann constant ( 1.381 × 10 − 23 J/K , joules per kelvin )  is the noise temperature ( K )   Thus the noise temperature is proportional to the power spectral density of the noise , . That is the power that would be absorbed from the component or source by a matched load . Noise temperature is generally a function of frequency , unlike that of an ideal resistor which is simply equal to the actual temperature of the resistor at all frequencies .

negative: Thioacetone Thioacetone is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula ( CH3 ) 2CS . It is a lightly studied compound . The compound has been isolated as an orange or brown liquid at low temperatures . Above -20 ° C , thioacetone readily converts to a polymer and a trimer .

negative: Climate of Rajasthan The Climate of Rajasthan , India is generally arid or semi-arid and features fairly hot temperatures over the year with extreme temperatures in both summer and winter .

negative: Climate of Serbia The Serbian climate is between a continental climate in the north , with cold winters , and hot , humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns , and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot , dry summers and autumns and rank daily average relatively cold winters with heavy inland snowfall . Differences in elevation , proximity to the Adriatic Sea and large river basins , as well as exposure to the winds account for climate differences .  Northern Serbia possesses typical continental climate , with air masses from northern and western Europe which shape its climatic profile . South and South-west Serbia is subject to Mediterranean influences . However , the Dinaric Alps and other mountain ranges contribute to the cooling down of most of the warm air masses . Winters are quite harsh in Raška ( region ) because of the mountains which encircle the plateau . Mediterranean micro-regions exist throughout southern Serbia , in Zlatibor and the Pčinja District around valley and river Pčinja . The average annual air temperature for the period 1961 -- 90 for the area with an altitude of up to 300 m is 10.9 ° C . The areas with an altitude of 300 to have an average annual temperature of around 10.0 ° C , and over 1000 m of altitude around 6.0 ° C . The lowest recorded temperature in Serbia was -39.5 ° C ( January 13 , 1985 , Karajukića Bunari in Pešter ) , and the highest was 44.9 C ( July 24 , 2007 , Smederevska Palanka ) .

negative: Ice VII Ice VII is a cubic crystalline form of ice . It can be formed from liquid water above 3 GPa ( 30,000 atmospheres ) by lowering its temperature to room temperature , or by decompressing heavy water ( D2O ) ice VI below 95 K. Ordinary water ice is known as ice Ih , ( in the Bridgman nomenclature ) . Different types of ice , from ice II to ice XVI , have been created in the laboratory at different temperatures and pressures . Ice VII is metastable over a wide range of temperatures and pressures and transforms into low-density amorphous ice ( LDA ) above 120K . Ice VII has a triple point with liquid water and ice VI at 355 K and 2.216 GPa , with the melt line extending to at least 715 K and 10 GPa . It can also be created by increasing the pressure on ice VI at ambient temperature .   Like the majority of ice phases ( including ice Ih ) , the hydrogen atom positions are disordered . In addition , the oxygen atoms are disordered over multiple sites . The structure of ice VII comprises a hydrogen bond framework in the form of two interpenetrating ( but non-bonded ) sublattices . Hydrogen pass through the center of the water hexamers and thus do not connect the two lattices . Ice VII has a density of about 1.65 g cm − 3 ( at 2.5 GPa and 25 ° C ) , which is less than twice the cubic ice density as the intra-network O -- O distances are 8 % longer ( at 0.1 MPa ) to allow for interpenetration . The cubic unit cell has a side length of 3.3501 Å ( for D2O , at 2.6 GPa and 22 ° C ) and contains two water molecules .   Ice VII is the only disordered phase of ice that can be ordered by simple cooling , and it forms ( ordered ) ice VIII below 273 K up to ~ 8 GPa . Above this pressure , the VII -- VIII transition temperature drops rapidly , reaching 0 K at ~ 60 GPa . Thus , ice VII has the largest stability field of all of the molecular phases of ice . The cubic oxygen sub-lattices that form the backbone of the ice VII structure persist to pressures of at least 128 GPa ; this pressure is substantially higher than that at which water loses its molecular character entirely , forming ice X . In high pressure ices , protonic diffusion ( movement of protons around the oxygen lattice ) dominates molecular diffusion , an effect which has been measured directly .   Scientists hypothesize that ice VII may comprise the ocean floor of Titan as well as extrasolar planets ( such as Gliese 436 b and GJ 1214 b ) that are largely made of water .

negative: Climate of North Carolina North Carolina 's climate varies from the Atlantic coast in the east to the Appalachian Mountain range in the west . The mountains often act as a `` shield '' , blocking low temperatures and storms from the Midwest from entering the Piedmont of North Carolina . Most of the state has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ) , except in the higher elevations of the Appalachians which have a subtropical highland climate ( Köppen Cfb ) . For most areas in the state , the temperatures in July during the daytime are approximately 90 F . In January the average temperatures range near 50 F. ( However , a polar vortex or `` cold blast '' can significantly bring down average temperatures , seen in the winters of 2014 and 2015 . )

negative: Geothermal heat pump A geothermal heat pump or ground source heat pump ( GSHP ) is a central heating and/or cooling system that transfers heat to or from the ground .   It uses the earth as a heat source ( in the winter ) or a heat sink ( in the summer ) . This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems , and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency . They are also known by other names , including geoexchange , earth-coupled , earth energy systems . The engineering and scientific communities prefer the terms `` geoexchange '' or `` ground source heat pumps '' to avoid confusion with traditional geothermal power , which uses a high temperature heat source to generate electricity . Ground source heat pumps harvest heat absorbed at the Earth 's surface from solar energy . The temperature in the ground below 6 m is roughly equal to the mean annual air temperature at that latitude at the surface .   Depending on latitude , the temperature beneath the upper 6 m of Earth 's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 10 and 16 ° C ( 50 and 60 ° F ) , if the temperature is undisturbed by the presence of a heat pump . Like a refrigerator or air conditioner , these systems use a heat pump to force the transfer of heat from the ground . Heat pumps can transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space , against the natural direction of flow , or they can enhance the natural flow of heat from a warm area to a cool one . The core of the heat pump is a loop of refrigerant pumped through a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle that moves heat . Air-source heat pumps are typically more efficient at heating than pure electric heaters , even when extracting heat from cold winter air , although efficiencies begin dropping significantly as outside air temperatures drop below 5 ° C ( 41 ° F ) . A ground source heat pump exchanges heat with the ground . This is much more energy-efficient because underground temperatures are more stable than air temperatures through the year . Seasonal variations drop off with depth and disappear below 7 m to 12 m due to thermal inertia . Like a cave , the shallow ground temperature is warmer than the air above during the winter and cooler than the air in the summer . A ground source heat pump extracts ground heat in the winter ( for heating ) and transfers heat back into the ground in the summer ( for cooling ) . Some systems are designed to operate in one mode only , heating or cooling , depending on climate .   Geothermal pump systems reach fairly high coefficient of performance ( CoP ) , 3 to 6 , on the coldest of winter nights , compared to 1.75 -- 2.5 for air-source heat pumps on cool days . Ground source heat pumps ( GSHPs ) are among the most energy efficient technologies for providing HVAC and water heating .   Setup costs are higher than for conventional systems , but the difference is usually returned in energy savings in 3 to 10 years , and even shorter lengths of time with federal , state and utility tax credits and incentives . Geothermal heat pump systems are reasonably warranted by manufacturers , and their working life is estimated at 25 years for inside components and 50 + years for the ground loop . As of 2004 , there are over one million units installed worldwide providing 12 GW of thermal capacity , with an annual growth rate of 10 % .

negative: Simon–Glatzel equation The Simon -- Glatzel equation is an empirical correlation describing the pressure dependence of the melting temperature of a solid . The pressure dependence of the melting temperature is small for small pressure changes because the volume change during fusion or melting is rather small . However , at very high pressures higher melting temperatures are generally observed as the liquid usually occupies a larger volume than the solid making melting more thermodynamically unfavorable at elevated pressure . If the liquid has a smaller volume than the solid ( as for ice and liquid water ) a higher pressure leads to a lower melting point .

negative: Recoil temperature In laser cooling , the Boltzmann constant times the recoil temperature is equal to the recoil energy deposited in a single atom initially at rest by the spontaneous emission of a single photon . The recoil temperature is   ,   since the photon 's momentum is ( here is the wavevector of the light , is the mass of an atom , is Boltzmann 's constant and is Planck 's constant ) . The recoil temperature for the D2 lines of alkali atoms is typically on the order of 1 μK , and thus lower than the Doppler temperature . An example of a process where the recoil temperature can be reached is Sisyphus cooling .

negative: Molten salt Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure ( STP ) but enters the liquid phase due to elevated temperature . A salt that is normally liquid even at STP is usually called a room temperature ionic liquid , although technically molten salts are a class of ionic liquids .

negative: Hot water reset Hot water reset is an energy-saving automatic control algorithm for hot water boilers that are typically fired with fuel oil or natural gas . A hot water reset control loop measures the outside air temperature ; this information is used to estimate demand or heating load as the outdoor temperature varies . The supply hot water temperature is modulated up and down range in an inverse linear ratio to outside air temperature . The typical range for conventional boilers is to vary the supply water temperature from as the outside temperature varies from .

negative: Hampson–Linde cycle The Hampson -- Linde cycle is used in the liquefaction of gases , especially for air separation . William Hampson and Carl von Linde independently filed for patent of the cycle in 1895 .   Hampson-Linde systems introduced regenerative cooling , a positive-feedback cooling system . The heat exchanger arrangement permits an absolute temperature difference ( e.g. J-T cooling for air ) to go beyond a single stage of cooling , and reach the low temperatures required to liquefy `` fixed '' gasses .   The Hampson-Linde cycle differs from the Siemens cycle only in the expansion step . Where the Siemens cycle has the gas do external work to reduce its temperature , the Hampson-Linde cycle relies solely on the Joule-Thomson effect . This has the advantage that the cold side needs no moving parts .

negative: Jones Dole equation The Jones Dole equation or Jones Dole expression describes the relationship between the viscosity of an aqueous salt solution and the concentration of salt within the solution ( at a fixed temperature and pressure ) .   The Jones Dole equation is written as :   where   n ( aq ) is the viscosity of the aqueous salt solution ( at a fixed temperature and pressure )  nl * ( l ) is the viscosity of water at the same temperature and pressure  A is a coefficient that describes the impact of charge-charge interactions on the viscosity of a solution ( it is usually positive )  C is the concentration of the salt  B is a coefficient which characterises the ion-solvent interactions at a defined temperature and pressure . It is interpreted as a measure of the structure forming and structure-breaking capacity of an ion in solution .


query: Adapting to global warming is cheaper than preventing it

positive: Climate change adaptation Climate change adaptation is a response to global warming and climate change , that seeks to reduce the vulnerability of social and biological systems to relatively sudden change and thus offset the effects of global warming . Even if emissions are stabilized relatively soon , global warming and its effects will last many years , and adaptation will be necessary to the resulting changes in climate . Adaptation is especially important in developing countries since those countries are predicted to bear the brunt of the effects of global warming . That is , the capacity and potential for humans to adapt ( called adaptive capacity ) is unevenly distributed across different regions and populations , and developing countries generally have less capacity to adapt ( Schneider et al. , 2007 ) . Furthermore , the degree of adaptation correlates to the situational focus on environmental issues . Therefore , adaptation requires the situational assessment of sensitivity and vulnerability to environmental impacts . Adaptive capacity is closely linked to social and economic development ( IPCC , 2007 ) . The economic costs of adaptation to climate change are likely to cost billions of dollars annually for the next several decades , though the amount of money needed is unknown . Donor countries promised an annual $ 100 billion by 2020 through the Green Climate Fund for developing countries to adapt to climate change . However , while the fund was set up during COP16 in Cancún , concrete pledges by developed countries have not been forthcoming . The adaptation challenge grows with the magnitude and the rate of climate change .   Another response to climate change , known as climate change mitigation ( Verbruggen , 2007 ) is to reduce greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions and/or enhance the removal of these gases from the atmosphere ( through carbon sinks ) . Even the most effective reductions in emissions , however , would not prevent further climate change impacts , making the need for adaptation unavoidable ( Klein et al. , 2007 ) . In a literature assessment , Klein et al. ( 2007 ) assessed options for adaptation . They concluded , with very high confidence , that in the absence of mitigation efforts , the effects of climate change would reach such a magnitude as to make adaptation impossible for some natural ecosystems . Others are concerned that climate adaptation programs might interfere with the existing development programs and thus lead to unintended consequences for vulnerable groups . For human systems , the economic and social costs of unmitigated climate change would be very high .

positive: Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years .   In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing .   Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years .   Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) ,  whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change .   Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned .

negative: Effects of global warming The effects of global warming are the environmental and social changes caused ( directly or indirectly ) by human emissions of greenhouse gases . There is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring , and that human activities are the primary driver . Many impacts of climate change have already been observed , including glacier retreat , changes in the timing of seasonal events ( e.g. , earlier flowering of plants ) , and changes in agricultural productivity .   Future effects of climate change will vary depending on climate change policies and social development . The two main policies to address climate change are reducing human greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and adapting to the impacts of climate change . Geoengineering is another policy option .   Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-term climate change impacts . Stringent mitigation policies might be able to limit global warming ( in 2100 ) to around 2 ° C or below , relative to pre-industrial levels . Without mitigation , increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels might lead to global warming of around 4 ° C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to , and would increase the risk of negative impacts .

negative: Mitigation of global warming in Australia Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming . This is in distinction to adaptation to global warming , which involves taking action to minimise the effects of global warming . Scientific consensus on global warming , together with the precautionary principle and the fear of non-linear climate transitions , is leading to increased effort to develop new technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming .   Carbon capture and storage ( CCS ) for coal-fired power stations has been put forward as a solution to rising greenhouse gas emissions . However , CCS can not deliver in time to avoid dangerous increases in temperatures , as widespread commercial use of CCS is not expected before 2030 .   Following the introduction of government mandatory renewable energy targets , more opportunities have opened up for renewable energy technologies such as wind power , photovoltaics , and solar thermal technologies . The deployment of these technologies provides opportunities for mitigating greenhouse gases .   A carbon price was introduced on 1 July 2012 by the government of Julia Gillard with the purpose of reducing Australia 's carbon emissions . It requires large businesses ( defined as those with annual carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over 25,000 tonnes annually ) to pay a price for emissions permits . The tax was scrapped by the Abbott government in July 2014 in what was a widely criticised and highly publicised move .

negative: Economics of global warming The economics of global warming concerns the economic aspects of global warming ; this can inform policies that governments might consider in response . A number of factors make this a difficult problem from both economic and political perspectives : it is a long-term , intergenerational problem ; benefits and costs are distributed unequally both within and across countries ; and scientific and public opinions may diverge .   One of the most important greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide . Around 20 % of carbon dioxide which is emitted due to human activities can remain in the atmosphere for many thousands of years . The long time scales and uncertainty associated with global warming have led analysts to develop `` scenarios '' of future environmental , social and economic changes . These scenarios can help governments understand the potential consequences of their decisions .   The impacts of climate change include the loss of biodiversity , sea level rise , increased frequency and severity of some extreme weather events , and acidification of the oceans . Economists have attempted to quantify these impacts in monetary terms , but these assessments can be controversial .   The two main policy responses to global warming are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and to adapt to the impacts of global warming ( e.g. , by building levees in response to sea level rise ) . Another policy response which has recently received greater attention is geoengineering of the climate system ( e.g. injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth 's surface ) .   One of the responses to the uncertainties of global warming is to adopt a strategy of sequential decision making . This strategy recognizes that decisions on global warming need to be made with incomplete information , and that decisions in the near term will have potentially long-term impacts . Governments might choose to use risk management as part of their policy response to global warming . For instance , a risk-based approach can be applied to climate impacts which are difficult to quantify in economic terms , e.g. , the impacts of global warming on indigenous peoples .   Analysts have assessed global warming in relation to sustainable development . Sustainable development considers how future generations might be affected by the actions of the current generation . In some areas , policies designed to address global warming may contribute positively towards other development objectives . In other areas , the cost of global warming policies may divert resources away from other socially and environmentally beneficial investments ( the opportunity costs of climate change policy ) .

negative: Effects of global warming on Australia Predictions measuring the effects of global warming on Australia assert that global warming will negatively impact the continent 's environment , economy , and communities . Australia has been designated as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change , according to the Stern Review and others , due partially to the importance of its agricultural sector and the prominence of its coast .   Australia is vulnerable to the effects of global warming projected for the next 50 to 100 years because of its extensive arid and semi-arid areas , an already warm climate , high annual rainfall variability , and existing pressures on water supply . The continent 's high fire risk increases this susceptibility to change in temperature and climate . Additionally , Australia 's population is highly concentrated in coastal areas , and its important tourism industry depends on the health of the Great Barrier Reef and other fragile ecosystems . The impacts of climate change in Australia will be complex and to some degree uncertain , but increased foresight may enable the country to safeguard its future through planned mitigation and adaptation . Mitigation may reduce the ultimate extent of climate change and its impacts , but requires global solutions and cooperation , while adaptation can be performed at national and local levels .

negative: Regional effects of global warming Regional effects of global warming are long-term significant changes in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region due to global warming . The world average temperature is rising due to the greenhouse effect caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases , especially carbon dioxide . When the global temperature changes , the changes in climate are not expected to be uniform across the Earth . In particular , land areas change more quickly than oceans , and northern high latitudes change more quickly than the tropics , and the margins of biome regions change faster than do their cores .   Regional effects of global warming vary in nature . Some are the result of a generalised global change , such as rising temperature , resulting in local effects , such as melting ice . In other cases , a change may be related to a change in a particular ocean current or weather system . In such cases , the regional effect may be disproportionate and will not necessarily follow the global trend . The increasing temperatures from greenhouse gases have been causing sea levels to rise for many years .   There are three major ways in which global warming will make changes to regional climate : melting or forming ice , changing the hydrological cycle ( of evaporation and precipitation ) and changing currents in the oceans and air flows in the atmosphere . The coast can also be considered a region , and will suffer severe impacts from sea level rise .

negative: Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming Cool It : The Skeptical Environmentalist 's Guide to Global Warming is a book by the Danish statistician and political scientist Bjørn Lomborg . The book is a sequel to The Skeptical Environmentalist ( first published in Danish in 1998 ) , which in English translation brought the author to world attention . Lomborg argues that many of the elaborate and expensive actions being considered to stop global warming will cost hundreds of billions of dollars without the same return on investment , often are based on emotional rather than strictly scientific assumptions , and may have very little impact on the world 's temperature for centuries . Lomborg concludes that a limited carbon tax is needed in the First World as well as subsidies from the First World to the Third World to help fight ongoing humanitarian crises .

negative: Global warming game A global warming game , also known as a climate game or a climate change game , is a type of serious game . As a serious game , it attempts to simulate and explore real life issues to educate players through an interactive experience . The issues particular to a global warming video game are usually energy efficiency and the implementation of green technology as ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus counteract global warming . Global warming games also include more traditional board games , video games , as well as other varieties .

negative: Extinction risk from global warming The extinction risk of global warming is the risk of species becoming extinct due to the effects of global warming .

negative: Business action on climate change Business action on climate change includes a range of activities relating to global warming , and to influencing political decisions on global-warming-related regulation , such as the Kyoto Protocol . Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of global warming , especially in the United States , through lobbying of government and funding of global warming skeptics . Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of global warming , through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures . ( See also individual and political action on climate change . )

negative: Global warming (disambiguation) Global warming is one of the common names for the current change in Earth 's climate .   Global warming may also refer to :  Global Warming ( Pitbull album ) , a 2011 music album by Pitbull  Global Warming ( Sonny Rollins album ) , a 1998 music album by Sonny Rollins  Global warming game , several games based on the concept   Not to be confused with the Global warming controversy , which refers to the public debate over scientific conclusions on climate change .

negative: An Appeal to Reason An Appeal to Reason : A Cool Look at Global Warming is a 2008 book by Nigel Lawson . In it , Lawson argues that global warming is happening , but that the science is far from settled . He opposes the scientific consensus as summarized by the IPCC . He also argues that warming will bring both benefits and negative consequences , and that the impact of these changes will be relatively moderate rather than apocalyptic . He criticizes politicians and scientists who predict catastrophe unless urgent action is taken , and he calls for gradual adaptation instead . The book has been criticized by some climatologists , including IPCC authors Jean Palutikof and Robert Watson .

negative: Thermal Credits Thermal credits is a new holistic concept which corresponds to the percentage of the climate impact saving obtained through mitigation and adaptation measures applied against global warming , taking as reference the global temperature rise projected in a given time scale . Thermal credits are measured in percentages of global warming reduction in a given time .

negative: Global warming in Norway Global warming in Norway discusses global warming issues in Norway .

negative: Global warming in Luxembourg Global warming in Luxembourg discuss the global warming issues in Luxembourg .

negative: Economics of climate change mitigation This article is about the economics of climate change mitigation . Mitigation of climate change involves actions that are designed to limit the amount of long-term climate change ( Fisher et al. . , 2007:225 ) . Mitigation may be achieved through the reduction of greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions or through the enhancement of sinks that absorb GHGs , for example forests .

negative: Carbon price Carbon pricing -- the method favored by many economists for reducing global-warming emissions -- charges those who emit carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) for their emissions . That charge , called a carbon price , is the amount that must be paid for the right to emit one tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere . Carbon pricing usually takes the form either of a carbon tax or a requirement to purchase permits to emit , generally known as cap-and-trade , but also called `` allowances '' .   Carbon pricing solves the economic problem that , a known greenhouse gas , is what economics calls a negative externality -- a detrimental product that is not priced ( charged for ) by any market . As a consequence of not being priced , there is no market mechanism responsive to the costs of CO2 emitted . The standard economic solution to problems of this type , first proposed by Arthur Pigou in 1920 , is for the product - in this case , CO2 emissions - to be charged at a price equal to the monetary value of the damage caused by the emissions . This should result in the economically optimal ( efficient ) amount of CO2 emissions . Many practical concerns mar the theoretical simplicity of this picture : for example , the exact monetary damage caused by a tonne of CO2 is uncertain .   The economics of carbon pricing is much the same for taxes and cap-and-trade . Both prices are efficient ; they have the same social cost and the same effect on profits if permits are auctioned . However , some economists argue that caps prevent non-price policies , such as renewable energy subsidies , from reducing carbon emissions , while carbon taxes do not . Others argue that an enforced cap is the only way to guarantee that carbon emissions will actually be reduced ; a carbon tax will not prevent those who can afford to do so from continuing to generate emissions .   The choice of pricing approach , a tax or cap-and-trade , has been controversial . A carbon tax is generally favored on economic grounds for its simplicity and stability , while cap-and-trade is often favored on political grounds . Recently ( 2013 − 14 ) economic opinion has been shifting more heavily toward taxes as national policy measures , and toward a neutral carbon-price-commitment position for the purpose of international climate negotiations .

negative: Global warming hiatus A global warming hiatus , also sometimes referred to as a global warming pause or a global warming slowdown , is a period of relatively little change in globally averaged surface temperatures . In the current episode of global warming many such 15-year periods appear in the surface temperature record , along with robust evidence of the long-term warming trend ; climate is classically averaged over 30-year periods .   Publicity has surrounded claims of a global warming hiatus during the period 1998 -- 2013 . The exceptionally warm El Niño year of 1998 was an outlier from the continuing temperature trend , and so subsequent annual temperatures gave the appearance of a hiatus : by January 2006 , it appeared to some that global warming had stopped or paused . A 2009 study showed that decades without warming were not exceptional , and in 2011 a study showed that if allowances were made for known variability , the rising temperature trend continued unabated . There was increased public interest in 2013 in the run-up to publication of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report , and despite concerns that a 15-year period was too short to determine a meaningful trend , the IPCC included a section on a hiatus , which it defined as a much smaller increasing linear trend over the 15 years from 1998 to 2012 , than over the 60 years from 1951 to 2012 . Various studies examined possible causes of the short-term slowdown . Even though the overall climate system has continued to accumulate energy due to Earth 's positive energy budget , the available temperature readings at the Earth 's surface indicate slower rates of increase in surface warming than in the prior decade . Since measurements at the top of the atmosphere show that Earth is receiving more energy than it is radiating back into space , the retained energy should be producing warming in the Earth 's climate system .   Research reported in July 2015 on an updated NOAA dataset casts doubt on the existence of a hiatus , and it finds no indication of a slowdown even in earlier years . Scientists working on other datasets welcomed this study , though they have expressed the view that the recent warming trend was less than in previous periods of the same length . Subsequently , a detailed study supports the conclusion that warming is continuing , but it also find there was less warming between 2001 and 2010 than climate models had predicted , and that this slowdown might be attributed to short-term variations in the Pacific decadal oscillation ( PDO ) , which was negative during that period . Another review finds `` no substantive evidence '' of a pause in global warming . A statistical study of global temperature data since 1970 concludes that the term ` hiatus ' or ` pause ' is not justified .   Independent of these discussions about data and measurements for earlier years , 2015 turned out to be much warmer than any of the earlier years , already before El Niño conditions started . The warmth of 2015 largely ended any remaining scientific credibility of claims that the supposed `` hiatus '' since 1998 had any significance for the long-term warming trend . In January 2017 , a study published in the journal Science Advances cast further doubt on the existence of a recent pause , with more evidence that ocean temperatures have been underestimated . An April 2017 study found the data consistent with a steady warming trend globally since the 1970s , with fluctuations within the expected range of short term variability .

negative: Climatic adaptation Climate adaptation refers to specific adaptations in a living organism that develop in response to changes in climate and habitat . Such adaptations could include physical changes , such as skin or fur color and composition changes , or the adaptations could be behavioral , such as burrowing into the ground or spending more time in water . These are not necessarily permanently expressed traits , instead encompassing the potential for the individual to adapt to certain environments . The change in the environment triggers a change in behavior which would not have been present had the organism not been exposed to that specific stimuli . Climate adaptation is constrained by the genetic variability of the species in question .

negative: Technological Innovation for Climate Change Mitigation

negative: Global warming in Belgium Global warming in Belgium describes the global warming related issues in Belgium .

negative: Climate change mitigation scenarios Climate change mitigation scenarios are possible futures in which global warming is reduced by deliberate actions , such as a comprehensive switch to energy sources other than fossil fuels . A typical mitigation scenario is constructed by selecting a long-range target , such as a desired atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) , and then fitting the actions to the target , for example by placing a cap on net global and national emissions of greenhouse gases .   An increase of global temperature by more than 2 ° C has come to be the majority definition of what would constitute intolerably dangerous climate change with efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels per the Paris Agreement . Some climate scientists are increasingly of the opinion that the goal should be a complete restoration of the atmosphere 's preindustrial condition , on the grounds that too protracted a deviation from those conditions will produce irreversible changes .

negative: Earth's energy budget Earth 's energy budget accounts for the energy Earth receives from the Sun . Much of this energy is lost when the earth re-radiates it back into outer space , and the rest of the energy is distributed throughout the five components of Earth 's climate system . This system is made up of earth 's water , ice , atmosphere , rocky crust , and all living things .   Quantifying changes in these amounts is required to accurately model the Earth 's climate .   Received radiation is unevenly distributed over the planet , because the Sun heats equatorial regions more than polar regions . Energy is absorbed by the atmosphere , hydrosphere , and lithosphere , and , in a process informally described as Earth 's heat engine , the solar heating is redistributed through evaporation of surface water , convection , rainfall , winds , and ocean circulation . When the incoming solar energy is balanced by an equal flow of heat to space , the Earth is said to be in radiative equilibrium and under that condition , global temperatures will be stable .   Disturbances of Earth 's radiative equilibrium , such as an increase of greenhouse gases , will change global temperatures in response . However , Earth 's energy balance and heat fluxes depend on many factors , such as atmospheric composition ( mainly aerosols and greenhouse gases ) , the albedo ( reflectivity ) of surface properties , cloud cover and vegetation and land use patterns . Changes in surface temperature due to Earth 's energy budget do not occur instantaneously , due to the inertia of the oceans and the cryosphere . The net heat flux is buffered primarily by becoming part of the ocean 's heat content , until a new equilibrium state is established between radiative forcings and the climate response .

negative: Pollution haven hypothesis The pollution haven hypothesis posits that , when large industrialized nations seek to set up factories or offices abroad , they will often look for the cheapest option in terms of resources and labor that offers the land and material access they require . However , this often comes at the cost of environmentally sound practices . Developing nations with cheap resources and labor tend to have less stringent environmental regulations , and conversely , nations with stricter environmental regulations become more expensive for companies as a result of the costs associated with meeting these standards . Thus , companies that choose to physically invest in foreign countries tend to ( re ) locate to the countries with the lowest environmental standards or weakest enforcement .

negative: Global warming in Russia Global warming in Russia describes the global warming related issues in Russia . This includes climate politics , contribution to global warming and the influence of global warming on Russia . In 2009 Russia was ready to reduce emissions 20 -- 25 % from its 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 .

negative: Greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet 's atmosphere warms the planet 's surface to a temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere .   If a planet 's atmosphere contains radiatively active gases ( i.e. , greenhouse gases ) the atmosphere will radiate energy in all directions . Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface , warming it . The downward component of this radiation -- that is , the strength of the greenhouse effect -- will depend on the atmosphere 's temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains .   On Earth , the atmosphere is warmed by absorption of infrared thermal radiation from the underlying surface ( heated by the sun ) , absorption of shorter wavelength radiant energy from the sun , and convective heat fluxes from the surface . Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere radiate energy , some of which is directed to the surface and lower atmosphere . The mechanism that produces this difference between the actual surface temperature and the effective temperature is due to the atmosphere and is known as the greenhouse effect .   Earth 's natural greenhouse effect is critical to supporting life . Human activities , primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests , have intensified the natural greenhouse effect , causing global warming .   The mechanism is named after a faulty analogy with the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse . The way a greenhouse retains heat is fundamentally different , as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow and retaining warm air inside the structure .

negative: Anti-greenhouse effect The anti-greenhouse effect is a mechanism similar to the greenhouse effect , but with the opposite consequence of cooling the surface temperature of a planet . If gases in the atmosphere of a planet have a lesser transmittance for inbound radiation ( for instance , solar rays in the Solar System ) than for outbound radiation ( typically thermal radiation of the planet 's surface in the infrared domain ) , the surface temperature at which inbound and outbound heat fluxes are at equilibrium is lower .

negative: Climate system Earth's climate arises from the interaction of five major climate system components: the atmosphere (air), the hydrosphere (water), the cryosphere (ice and permafrost), the lithosphere (earth's upper rocky layer) and the biosphere (living things). Climate is the average weather, typically over a period of 30 years, and is determined by a combination of processes in the climate system, such as ocean currents and wind patterns. Circulation in the atmosphere and oceans is primarily driven by solar radiation and transports heat from the tropical regions to regions that receive less energy from the Sun. The water cycle also moves energy throughout the climate system. In addition, different chemical elements, necessary for life, are constantly recycled between the different components. The climate system can change due to internal variability and external forcings. These external forcings can be natural, such as variations in solar intensity and volcanic eruptions, or caused by humans. Accumulation of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, mainly being emitted by people burning fossil fuels, is causing global warming. Human activity also releases cooling aerosols, but their net effect is far less than that of greenhouse gases. Changes can be amplified by feedback processes in the different climate system components.

negative: Efficient energy use Efficient energy use , sometimes simply called energy efficiency , is the goal to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services . For example , insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature . Installing fluorescent lights , LED lights or natural skylights reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared with using traditional incandescent light bulbs . Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production process or by application of commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses .   There are many motivations to improve energy efficiency . Reducing energy use reduces energy costs and may result in a financial cost saving to consumers if the energy savings offset any additional costs of implementing an energy efficient technology . Reducing energy use is also seen as a solution to the problem of reducing greenhouse gas emissions . According to the International Energy Agency , improved energy efficiency in buildings , industrial processes and transportation could reduce the world 's energy needs in 2050 by one third , and help control global emissions of greenhouse gases .   Energy efficiency and renewable energy are said to be the twin pillars of sustainable energy policy and are high priorities in the sustainable energy hierarchy . In many countries energy efficiency is also seen to have a national security benefit because it can be used to reduce the level of energy imports from foreign countries and may slow down the rate at which domestic energy resources are depleted .

negative: Peter Taylor (environmentalist) Peter Taylor ( b. 24 Jan 1948 ) is a UK environmentalist with a long track record of public activism and scholarship on issues ranging from nuclear safety , ocean pollution , biodiversity strategies , renewable energy and climate change . His recent work on global warming has been questioned by environmentalists . His 2009 book Chill : a reassessment of global warming theory argued that most of the recent documented warming is caused by peaking natural cycles , that there is also a potential for global cooling and that adaptation not mitigation should be a priority . His views received widespread coverage in the media -- with front page on the Daily Express , and articles in the online versions of The Mail , The Times and an Al Jazeera video .

negative: Hurricane Katrina and global warming The tremendous destruction caused by recent Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclones , such as Hurricanes Katrina , Wilma , and Sandy caused a substantial upsurge in interest in the subject of global warming by news media and the wider public , and concerns that global climatic change may have played a significant role in those events . Time Magazine , for example , published an article titled , `` Is Global Warming Fueling Katrina ? '' -- however , the article itself addressed hurricanes in general , rather than Katrina specifically , and was inconclusive .   Shortly after the hurricane , former Boston Globe reporter Ross Gelbspan wrote an op-ed piece for the Globe titled , `` Katrina 's Real Name '' , declaring that the hurricane 's `` real name is global warming . '' Gelbspan went on to assert :  `` Although Katrina began as a relatively small hurricane that glanced off south Florida , it was supercharged with extraordinary intensity by the relatively blistering sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico . ''  Gelbspan did not single out Katrina from other recent storms in that regard ; in the article he went on to attribute other major weather events over the preceding year to global warming , including a blizzard in Los Angeles , high winds in Scandinavia , wildfires in Spain , and a drought centered in Missouri .   Britain 's then deputy prime minister , John Prescott , has linked Katrina with global warming , and statements made shortly after the hurricane by Germany 's environment minister , Jürgen Trittin , indicate he believes that global warming is responsible for an increase in the frequency of destructive natural events .   Kerry Emanuel had recently published a paper in the journal Nature that found a good correlation between hurricane intensity and sea surface temperatures . Some journalists have claimed Emanuel 's paper concludes that the recent increase in intense Atlantic storms is due to global warming , but Emanuel stated that `` it would be absurd to attribute the Katrina disaster to global warming '' .   The Internet blog RealClimate has written that `` there is no way to prove that Katrina either was , or was not , affected by global warming '' .