ENERGY A DRIVER OF OUR CLIMATE
The earth-atmosphere energy balance is achieved as the energy received from the Sun balances the energy lost by the Earth back into space. In this way, the Earth maintains a stable average temperature and therefore a stable climate. You have learned that Earth’s surface absorbs and emits radiation at the same rate. This balance in the rate of Earth’s absorption and emission occurs at 255K (-18°C or 0°F). Earth’s average temperature is much warmer at (288K, 15°C, or 59°F).
According to NASA: This difference can be explained when you take into consideration the atmosphere. Even though Earth’s atmosphere absorbs and emits infrared radiation, it does not absorb and emit equally. Certain gases in the atmosphere absorb some wavelengths of radiation (transferring their energy into heat), while other gases are transparent and allow radiation to pass through freely, without absorption taking place. You will understand Earth’s radiation balance after analyzing how the energy budget is calculated. And you will gain a better understanding of how Earth’s temperature is regulated after reading the upcoming sections on the greenhouse effect. The link below shows nine publications of Planet temperatures all showing the Earth’s temperature at 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius)
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How long have they known that the earth’s average temperature is stable at 59 degrees Fahrenheit? What we do know is that NASA and the two British agencies, CRU East Anglia, headed by Phil Jones, and British Meteorology Office used same average global temperature for the thirty period 1951-1980 at 59 F up to 1994/1995.
Phil Jones of CRU East Anglia inferred that the WMO had dropped the baseline temperature of 59 F (15 C) down to 57 F (14 C ) in 1998 and he had adopted their advice. This was not true because the WMO did not publish a baseline temperature, much less a global temperature until 2004!