Global warming is the anticipated and recorded increase in the mean temperature of the planet’s atmosphere, oceans, and landmass. During the past few centuries, the overall temperature has risen by almost 0.6 degree centigrade. Additionally, the sea level has risen several inches.

The United Nations instituted a panel comprising a group of scientists, known as the International Panel on Climate Change, to investigate the causes of global warming. They studied the patterns of global warming alongside natural seasonal cycles and events to determine the degree of their influence on climate changes.

The IPCC functions as an intergovernmental body and assesses threats and risks associated with global warming. It contextualises the different socio-political and economic repercussions with the perceived environmental consequences while publishing reports and recommendations. It’s main (nominal) objective is to lower, and eventually, freeze, the dangerously high, human-induced levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Scientists have determined that there are ‘greenhouse gases’ responsible for global warming. Human activity, namely the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories, power-production, etc. leads to the emission of these gases in copious quantities. The greenhouse gas which majorly influences the changing climate is carbon dioxide.

Many factors contribute to global warming other than the burning of non-renewables like coal & petroleum (i.e. sources of carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, methane, ozone, sulphur dioxides, etc.). One is destruction of forest cover (deforestation), which leads to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Methane gas is released by cattle and livestock, which are reared in large numbers for milk, meat and leather. Increase in commercial animal husbandry leads to large quantities of organic waste (which releases greenhouse gases on breakdown) as well as overgrazing, deforestation and destruction of natural grasslands.

Statistics say that the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane have increased by over 30% and almost 150%, respectively, above pre-industrial levels in the last three centuries.

Such findings of the IPCC have been widely appreciated and lauded. They have been recognized and inducted into a multitude of laws, policies, and legal frameworks by over a hundred member nations.