| Abstract |
Since the Industrial Revolution, the average global temperature has continued to rise over the long term, increasing by approximately 1°C over the past hundred or so decades. In particular, the global warming observed since the latter half of the 20th century is most likely due to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by human activities. If anthropogenic GHG emissions continue to increase, further warming is expected to occur by the end of this century, resulting in large-scale climate change. In this lecture, the current status and future projections of global warming will be discussed from a natural science perspective. After reviewing various observations of past climate changes, the interaction and feedbacks among the Earth's climate system and its subsystems, numerical climate models, and climate change factors will be explained, and the causes and canisms that lead to long-term climate variability and change will be discussed. |
