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Greenhouse gas
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World map shaded to show annual carbon dioxide emissions by country in 2022, with China, the United States, and India highlighted as top emitters in dark red. A bar chart below lists the top ten emitting countries by million metric tons.
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Diagram of the water cycle showing processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, infiltration, and groundwater flow between land, vegetation, surface water, and the ocean, with labeled arrows and color-coded soil moisture and groundwater zones. Illustrated diagram of the carbon cycle showing how carbon moves as carbon dioxide through the atmosphere, water, living organisms, rocks, and soil. It depicts processes like photosynthesis, respiration, sedimentation, volcanic activity, fossil fuel use, and carbon sequestration, with arrows indicating the flow between air, water, plants, animals, rocks, and industrial sources. Diagram of the carbon cycle showing how carbon moves between the atmosphere, biosphere, land, and ocean. Arrows connect processes like combustion, plant and animal respiration, decomposition, fossil fuel formation, and ocean absorption, with labeled pathways for carbon flow. Charred tree trunks and smoldering ash cover a deforested area of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, with smoke rising among sparse remaining trees. Line graph showing the Keeling Curve, which tracks atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels at Mauna Loa from 1965 to 2025. The graph shows a steady upward trend from about 320 to over 420 parts per million, with seasonal fluctuations. An inset highlights the annual cycle of CO2, demonstrating both the short-term oscillations and the long-term increase. Bar chart comparing global mean radiative forcings from various sources since 1750, including natural and anthropogenic factors such as greenhouse gases, aerosols, and land use, with color-coded bars showing positive and negative forcing values, uncertainty ranges, and scientific understanding levels.
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Combination shot of Grinnell Glacier taken from the summit of Mount Gould, Glacier National Park, Montana in the years 1938, 1981, 1998 and 2006.
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Greenhouse gas: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Michael E. Mann
    Associate Professor of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Article title updated for style. Nov 10, 2026
Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Agriculture: Pathways to Sustainable Reductions. Nov 01, 2026
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Agriculture: Pathways to Sustainable Reductions. Sep 17, 2026
Add new Web site: UCAR - Center for Science Education - How Do We Reduce Greenhouse Gases? Dec 19, 2025
Add new Web site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Plant Science - Climate Change and the Impact of Greenhouse Gasses: CO2 and NO, Friends and Foes of Plant Oxidative Stress. Sep 06, 2025
Add new Web site: University of Victoria - Greenhouse Gases (PDF). Feb 12, 2025
Add new Web site: Chemistry LibreTexts - Greenhouse Gases. Nov 15, 2022
Add new Web site: The Brookings Institution - Greenhouse gas emissions. Sep 05, 2022
Removed media. Oct 29, 2021
Article revised and updated. Mar 19, 2019
Add new Web site: Australian Government - Department of Environment - Climate change in Australia - Greenhouse gases. Sep 19, 2018
Noted that carbon dioxide concentrations rose by 2.0 ppm per year between 2005 and 2018 and that the global average carbon dioxide concentration had risen to 410 ppm by 2018, which are levels believed to be the highest in at least 800,000 years. Jun 27, 2018
Added graph of the Keeling Curve. Jun 27, 2018
Add new Web site: American Chemical Society - Which Gases Are Greenhouse Gases? Mar 14, 2018
Add new Web site: LiveScience - Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Causes and Sources. Feb 28, 2018
Add new Web site: United States Environmental Protection Agency - Overview of Greenhouse Gases. Feb 15, 2018
Media added. Mar 24, 2017
Media added. May 12, 2016
Video added describing how greenhouse gases slow the nighttime release of heat energy back into space. Nov 20, 2015
Add new Web site: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - Greenhouse Gas and the Greenhouse Effect. Apr 13, 2014
Video added that examines the role of carbon dioxide in climate change. Nov 16, 2011
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Greenhouse Gases. Jun 23, 2011
Added diagram of the methane cycle. May 26, 2010
New article added. Feb 05, 2009
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