Enhanced greenhouse effect and climate change in northern Europe

Abstract

The natural greenhouse effect keeps the surface of the Earth much warmer than it would be otherwise, thus making our planet habitable. Currently, the greenhouse effect is becoming stronger, because of anthropogenic increases in the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This is projected to increase the global mean temperature by 1-6°C during this century, but the magnitude of the warming and the nature of the other accompanying climate changes will be geographically variable. For northern Europe, climate models suggest a larger warming in winter than summer. Annual precipitation is projected to increase but, in comparison with the natural variability of climate, this change is expected to be much less dramatic than that in temperature. Along with the average climate conditions, the extremes of climate will also change. For example, very mild winters like the one experienced in 2007-2008 are becoming gradually more common and cold winters like 2009-2010 less common. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.