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Our tap pouring water into a bucket with a hole is a simple way of looking at the temperature of the Earth.
The water flowing from the tap represents the energy from the Sun, the water escaping from the hole in the bucket represents the energy the Earth loses to space, and the water level in the bucket represents the temperature of the Earth.
The hotter the Earth, the more energy the Earth loses to space. If the Earth were to get more energy from the Sun the temperature of the Earth would rise, just like the water level in the bucket, until the amount of energy it's losing to space is again equal to the amount of energy it's getting.
At its simplest level, whether or not the Earth is heating up or cooling down is determined by the difference between the amount of energy the Earth is getting from the Sun and the amount of energy it is losing to space.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the increasing amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere has been restricting the amount of energy the Earth is losing to space - as if the hole in the bucket were partially blocked. As a result, the Earth is heating up. If we were to stop increasing the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, the Earth would eventually (in a few decades) reach a new, constant, warmer, temperature.
But how does climate relate to the weather?
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Content last updated: 13/12/2005
