What is Greenhouse gases (GHGs)?

Greenhouse gases are like invisible blankets that keep Earth warm, just like a cozy blanket keeps you warm on a cold night.

Imagine you're wearing your favorite blanket while reading a storybook. The blanket traps the warmth from your body and keeps you comfortable. Greenhouse gases do something similar, but for our whole planet!

When sunlight reaches Earth, some of it warms up the ground and the air. Then, some of that heat tries to escape back into space, like when you take off your blanket after reading a story. Greenhouse gases are like a second blanket: they catch some of that escaping warmth and send it back down to Earth.

Think about how it feels when you’re inside a car on a sunny day, the sun warms up the car, and the heat stays trapped inside. That’s kind of what happens with greenhouse gases: more of them mean more heat stays trapped, making Earth warmer over time.

It's like having too many blankets on a warm day, it gets stuffy!