What role does the sun play in global climate? What answer do climatologists give?

The sun transfers heat energy to the earth. However, this heat energy is received unevenly, resulting in the global circulation of air and heat that drives our weather and produces the wide range of climates we see.

Variations in the Earth's surface (such as water, ice, mountains, forests, bare rock, etc.) absorb or reflect this heat energy differently.

In addition, due to the curvature of the earth, the equatorial region receives the most heat energy from the sun. However, even at the equator, heat energy is not always received directly because the Earth's rotational axis is tilted approximately 23.5 degrees relative to the Sun. As a result of this slope, the amount of radiation received by each place during a year is different.

Creates seasons.

This deviation in the earth's axis along with its rotation around the sun is responsible for our seasons. Northern Hemisphere winter (from December to February) occurs when the Earth's North Pole axis moves away from the Sun.

At the same time, the axis of the South Pole is towards the Sun, exposing the Southern Hemisphere to more heat energy, and thus it is summer. During these three months, daylight hours are shortest for the Northern Hemisphere and longest for the Southern Hemisphere.

Six months later, the Earth completed half its rotation around the Sun and the seasons reversed. June, July and August are summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The length of daylight hours also varies, with the longest daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Twice a year, around March 21 and September 23, both hemispheres receive the same amount of solar radiation. These two days are called the equinox, which means equal night, when both hemispheres have 12 hours of light and darkness.

Prem Baboo added a reply

Prem Baboo

B.Tech(Chemical Engineering), M.Sc(Ecology & Environments) M.Phil(Environment Science), Executive M.B. Retired from DGM (Production & Process) Dangote Fertilizers Nigeria and Sr. Manager National Fertilizers Ltd. India at The Institution of Engineers (India)

India:

No, it is not the driving force behind today's global warming. According to a NASA report published in 2019, over the past five decades, even as the planet's average temperature has risen to new heights, the sun's energy production has increased or decreased by only 0.1%. We do not believe that the sun is responsible for the current global warming. The sun is the primary source of energy that powers biological and physical processes on Earth. Its heat liquefies water, helps plants grow, and warms the air, which affects our climate system. The sun can influence the Earth's climate, but it is not responsible for the warming trends we have seen in recent decades. The sun is life-giving. It helps keep the planet warm enough for us to survive. We know that subtle changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun are responsible for the coming and going of ice ages. But the warming we've seen in recent decades is too fast to be linked to changes in Earth's orbit, and too large to be caused by solar activity.