What are greenhouse gases?

Questions › Category: Global Warming › What are greenhouse gases?

Vayu Raghavan asked 5 years ago

Summary

Article Name

Description

Greenhouse gases are the main culprits responsible for climate change and global warming. Learn more about greenhouse gases here.

Author

Team GreenSutra

Publisher Name

GreenSutra

Publisher Logo

1 Answers

Best Answer

Team GreenSutra® Staff answered 5 years ago

Any gas that has the ability to absorb and emit radiant energy within the thermal infrared range can be referred to as a Greenhouse Gas.

In simpler terms, a greenhouse gas can be referred to as a gas present in the earth’s atmosphere that traps the heat that the sunlight brings.

Greenhouse gases are abbreviated as GHG.

Some of the major greenhouse gases are:

Greenhouse Gas	Chemical Formula	Global Warming Potential	Atmospheric Lifetime (years)
Carbon Dioxide	CO₂	1	100
Methane	CH₄	25	12
Nitrous Oxide	N₂O	298	114
Chlorofluorocarbon - 12	CCl₂F₂	10,900	100
Hydrofluorocarbon-23	CHF₃	14,800	270
Sulphur Hexafluoride	SF₆	22,800	3,200
Nitrogen Trifluoride	NF₃	17,200	740