Final answer:
Global warming is the ongoing rise in Earth's average surface temperature due to human-driven increases in greenhouse gases, which is a central aspect of climate change.
Step-by-step explanation:
What is Global Warming?
Global warming is defined as the increase in Earth's average surface temperature, predominantly due to the enhanced greenhouse effect caused by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are crucial to this process as they trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to global warming, which is a key aspect of the broader term climate change. This phenomenon not only increases temperatures but also causes large-scale shifts in weather patterns, affecting ecosystems, sea levels, and weather events.
The scientific consensus points to the Industrial Revolution as the start of a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions, leading to the current warming trend. The rise in temperature has been observed over the last two hundred years, but the most pronounced effects have occurred since the mid-20th century. As the Earth continues to warm, we are witnessing changes that include but are not limited to altered rainfall and snowfall patterns, shifts in habitats that affect biodiversity, and a range of other environmental impacts.