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Category 15 · Environment & Ecology

Climate Change Basics and Causes

10 micro topics in Environment & Ecology for UPSC Prelims, in book order: Definitions of Climate Change and Global Warming; Factors and Causes of Climate Change: Extra-Terrestrial, Terrestrial and Anthropogenic Sources; and 8 more.

  1. 15.1

    Definitions of Climate Change and Global Warming

    Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a place over a short time, while climate is the average of weather over a long period, usually at least 30 years, including its variability. Climate change, in…

  2. 15.2

    Factors and Causes of Climate Change: Extra-Terrestrial, Terrestrial and Anthropogenic Sources

    Climate changes because of factors outside the Earth, factors inside the Earth system and human activities. Extra-terrestrial causes include changes in the Sun's output, such as the roughly 11-year sunspot cycle, and the Milankovitch cycles, which…

  3. 15.3

    Urbanization and Climate Change: Urban Heat Island, Pollution in Metros

    Cities cause and suffer climate change. They cover a small share of the land but account for most energy use and a large share of greenhouse gas emissions, often put at around 70 percent of energy-related…

  4. 15.4

    Impact of Agriculture on Climate: Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Monoculture, Chemical Fertilizers, Livestock, Pesticides, GM Crops

    Agriculture is both a cause and a victim of climate change. Globally, agriculture, forestry and other land use produce roughly a fifth to a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions; in India, agriculture accounts for roughly 14…

  5. 15.5

    Methane Emission from Agricultural Practices

    Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. It lasts about 12 years in the atmosphere but traps far more heat per tonne, with a global warming potential of about 28 to…

  6. 15.6

    Sustainable Agriculture Techniques

    Sustainable agriculture meets present food needs without harming the ability of land, water and ecosystems to meet future needs, while giving farmers a fair living. Its techniques build soil health, save water, cut chemical inputs and…

  7. 15.7

    Greenhouse Effect and Non-Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols

    The greenhouse effect is the warming of the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere because certain gases absorb the infrared (heat) radiation given off by the surface and re-emit part of it downward. Sunlight passes through the…

  8. 15.8

    Radiative Forcing and Global Warming

    Radiative forcing is the change in the net (downward minus upward) energy flux at the top of the troposphere, in watts per square metre (W/m2), caused by a change in a climate driver such as greenhouse…

  9. 15.9

    Ecological Footprint and Carbon Footprint

    The ecological footprint, developed by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees in the 1990s, measures the biologically productive land and sea area a person, city or country needs to produce the resources it consumes and absorb the…

  10. 15.10

    Global Warming Potential (GWP)

    Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an index that compares how much heat a given mass of a greenhouse gas traps over a chosen period, usually 100 years, relative to the same mass of carbon dioxide, which…

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Frequently asked questions

Which topics are in Climate Change Basics and Causes?

Climate Change Basics and Causes has 10 micro topics in Environment & Ecology: Definitions of Climate Change and Global Warming; Factors and Causes of Climate Change: Extra-Terrestrial, Terrestrial and Anthropogenic Sources; Urbanization and Climate Change: Urban Heat Island, Pollution in Metros; Impact of Agriculture on Climate: Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Monoculture, Chemical Fertilizers, Livestock, Pesticides, GM Crops; Methane Emission from Agricultural Practices; Sustainable Agriculture Techniques; Greenhouse Effect and Non-Greenhouse Gases and Aerosols; Radiative Forcing and Global Warming; Ecological Footprint and Carbon Footprint; Global Warming Potential (GWP).

Is Climate Change Basics and Causes important for UPSC Prelims?

Climate Change Basics and Causes is a part of the UPSC Prelims Environment & Ecology syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 10 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.