What is Global Warming: Rise of Global Surface Temperature

Scientists estimated that, since the late 19 th century there was a real (though irregular) increase in the global surface temperature.

A trend towards global warming was observed during the period of 1910 to 1940. The temperatures declined slightly from 1940 through 1975, picking up again during the 1980s. (3)

The decline of the temperature during the post-World War II period may have been due to the masking of global warming by aerosols. (4)

During a 100-year period of 1906 – 2005, the global average temperature rose by 0.74 ° C. (5)

There is no reasonable doubt that during the last couple of decades the planet witnessed some of the hottest years on record.

As an example, 11 of the 12 years between 1995 and 2006 have ranked among the 12 warmest years since 1850. (6)

By middle 1980s, there was a wide appreciation of the global warming phenomenon and potential dangers it was posing to the planet.

During that time, the international community came together to establish an institutional framework that would provide space for further research and development of policy recommendations for managing this issue.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific body, was established by the United Nations in 1988 for the purposes of evaluating the risk of climate change caused by human activities. It does not carry out research as such, but bases its assessments on peer reviewed and published scientific literature. In 2007, the IPCC and Al Gore, former US Vice President, shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their work towards promoting the awareness of climate change. (7)

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a non-binding treaty aimed at “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. The UNFCCC was a product of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. (8)

Kyoto Protocol , adopted in 1997, is a follow-up agreement to the UNFCCC. Kyoto Protocol sets out mandatory requirements for signatories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to certain levels, with 1990 as the base year. (9)