Man-made warming dates back almost 200 years: study

(WEN-Planet-Ark, 25 Aug 2016) Man-made greenhouse gases began to nudge up the Earth's temperatures almost 200 years ago as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace, far earlier than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday.

Greenhouse gas emissions from industry left their first traces in the temperatures of tropical oceans and the Arctic around 1830, they said, challenging widespread views that man-made climate change began only in the 20th century.

The Industrial Revolution began around 1750 in Britain, with a surge in the use of coal to power factories, ships and railways, and gradually spread around the world.

Greenhouse gases at the time were only a fraction of those now blamed for trapping excessive levels of the sun's heat in the atmosphere, stoking more droughts, floods, heat waves and rising sea levels.

"Our findings show that the climate can respond very quickly to changes in greenhouse gases," lead author Nerilie Abram, of the Australian National University, told Reuters of the findings published in the journal Nature.

External link

WEN-Planet-Ark, 25 Aug 2016: Man-made warming dates back almost 200 years: study