Is Water Vapor a "Green House Gas?" And can it cause "Global warming?"?

Question

Is Water Vapor a "Green House Gas?" And can it cause "Global warming?"?

Answer 1

Yes to the first.  No to the second.  Here's why.

It's the most important greenhouse gas, and it cannot cause an INCREASE in temperature, such as we've seen in the last 100 years.

That's because increased water vapor cannot stay in the air.  It must fall out as rain or snow.  Increased CO2 can stay there for many years.

More about it here:

http://environment.newscientist.com/chan...

Wow.  I agree with Johnnie B on this.  I can't recall that ever happening before.

Answer 2

Yes it is a greenhouse gas. I guess it could cause more warming. The warmer the air is, the more water it can hold, but it will also condense when humidity reaches 100% (rain), removing water from the air. Certain models show it could have a runaway effect, with the help of other greenhouse gasses, but others do not.

Answer 3

Clouds are the number one "greenhouse gas". And people that know this can comprehend why global warming is a scam.

Answer 4

It is the number one naturally occuring greenhouse gas in our atmosphere. And if it didn't cause global warming we would be freezing our butts off.

Answer 5

Yes it is a greenhouse gas.

Your second question, a lot of people seem to get wrong. They all say "it can only be a feedback". While it is generally a feedback, if water production (through exhaust) stays at a constant or increasing rate, then it can initiate warming, because it cannot "rain out" fast enough.

Answer 6

No, water vapor is not a greenhouse gas.

Answer 7

yes water vapor is MOST defiantly a Green House gas..

YES it can MOST defiantly cause global warming any greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere in sufficient quantity can!!

Answer 8

lol yea i think it is a green house gas but its just water in the form of gas or air so it can't exactly cause global warming or help hurt it any more than what it already is

Answer 9

"Water vapor is water in its gaseous state-instead of liquid or solid (ice). Water vapor is totally invisible. If you see a cloud, fog, or mist, these are all liquid water, not water vapor. Water vapor is extremely important to the weather and climate. Without out it, there would be no clouds or rain or snow, since all of these have their source in water vapor. All of the water vapor that evaporates from the surface of the Earth eventually returns as precipitation - rain or snow. Water vapor is also the Earth's most important greenhouse gas, giving us over 90% of the Earth's natural greenhouse effect, which helps keep the Earth warm enough to support life. When liquid water is evaporated to form water vapor, heat is absorbed. This helps to cool the surface of the Earth. This "latent heat of condensation" is released again when the water vapor condenses to form cloud water. This source of heat helps drive the updrafts in clouds and precipitation systems."

Answer 10

Water vapor is part of natures  water recycling,and it is not for man to control.

Answer 11

Mr. Tights is exactly right, we need green house gases to sustain life on the planet.  manmade gasses are insignificant to all of this - 0.3% of the atmosphere is CO2, not enough to change anything.  CO2 is naturally occuring and therefore is not a contaminant, you breath it out.

Answer 12

Yes and yes.  That's why it's hotter in places with higher humidity(more water in the air).  There's conflicting data on if water vapor could cause the "Global Warming" you are referring to.  But it is certainly possible, and we'd be fools to not at lest consider it as a possible cause.

Answer 13

Water vapor is a greenhouse gas.  It is responsible for 90-95% of the energy reflection in our atmosphere.  

Can water vapor cause global warming?

Depends who you ask.  Yes it can cause some global warming in the short term.  The El Nino effect is an example of water vapor causing the earth to warm.  

Genearlly most people think of it not a cause but an effect.  As temperature increases the amount of water vapor air increases.  Also the amount of cloud cover increases.  Cloud cover causes the earth to cool.

Answer 14

It is clearly the most important greenhouse gas, with about 95 % of the warming.  It is variable and obviously could be responsible for warming.  The truth is that its variable concentrations and relationships to other factors make it extremely difficult to say that it is causing warming.  Is solar variation or increased CO2 causing variability in water vapor concentrations?   Is temperature causing changes in water vapor concentrations?  It is still poorly understood and impossible to predict in my opinion with the present knowledge and technology.

Answer 15

no becuase only "fossil fuel" gases cause global warming

caused buy burning fossil fuels

Answer 16

That was an awesome question! lol

I guess it's time to ban dihydrogen monoxide!

"Dihydrogen monoxide:

is called "hydroxyl acid", the substance is the major component of acid rain.

contributes to the "greenhouse effect".

may cause severe burns.

contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.

accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.

may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.

has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

as an industrial solvent and coolant.

in nuclear power plants.

in the production of styrofoam.

as a fire retardant.

in many forms of cruel animal research.

in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.

as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products."

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_...

Answer 17

Yes, it's a greenhouse gas.

It can cause global warming, but water vapor cannot initiate global warming.  It's what we call a 'feedback'.  This is because the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere depends entirely on the temperature of the atmosphere.  Only when the planet gets hotter can the atmosphere hold more water vapor, and then the increase in water vapor can cause more warming.

For further explanation, see Myth #9 here: http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/global...

Answer 18

no it cant because water vapoure is just pure water:)

Answer 19

I don't think that causes global warming