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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Climate Change and Climate Science

Greenhouse effect

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ˈɡriːnhaʊs ɪˌfekt/nounCore term

In environment & climate, greenhouse effect means: The natural process in which gases in the atmosphere trap some of the sun's heat and keep the Earth warm. Extra gases from human activities make this effect stronger.

In Turkish: sera etkisi

How it is used

Used in textbooks, reports and the media to explain why the planet is warming. Scientists distinguish the natural greenhouse effect, which makes life possible, from the enhanced greenhouse effect caused by human emissions. Usually used with 'the'.

Example sentences

  1. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth's average temperature would be well below freezing.

  2. Rising CO2 levels are strengthening the greenhouse effect.

Common collocations

  • the natural greenhouse effect
  • enhanced greenhouse effect
  • strengthen the greenhouse effect
  • trap heat
  • greenhouse gasA gas in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide, that traps heat from the sun and warms the Earth's surface.
  • global warmingThe rise in the Earth's average surface temperature since the late 1800s, caused mainly by greenhouse gases released by human activities.
  • carbon dioxideA colorless gas, written CO2, released when coal, oil, gas, wood and other carbon-based materials burn. It is the main greenhouse gas produced by human activities.
  • climate changeLong-term change in the Earth's typical temperatures and weather patterns. Today the term mostly refers to the warming caused by human activities such as burning coal, oil and gas.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Climate Change and Climate Science

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