- The burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which acts as a greenhouse gas and traps heat. This is the main human activity contributing to global climate change.
- As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase due to fossil fuel burning, more heat gets trapped leading to a rise in average global temperatures, a phenomenon known as global warming.
- Climate change has both natural and human-caused factors. Natural causes include changes in the Earth's orbit and solar activity, while the dominant human cause is burning fossil fuels which releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
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