Take a closer look at how the atmosphere keeps our planet warm.

Earth’s atmosphere keeps much of the Sun’s energy from escaping into space. This process, called the greenhouse effect, keeps the planet warm enough for life to exist.

This process has been happening for billions of years. After all, greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere. But in recent history, human activity is throwing off the balance of greenhouse gases. To get energy or electricity, we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. This releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases into the atmosphere. The more greenhouses gases we put into the atmosphere, the more heat they absorb—and the warmer our Earth becomes. This is called climate change .