Wator vapor is responsible for 99% of all global warming? True or False?

Question

Wator vapor is responsible for 99% of all global warming? True or False?

Answer 1

False - Water vapor is responsible for 90% to 95% of the green house effect.

Answer 2

False 36%.  But overall world humidity is not notably on the rise yet.  Its the rise in amounts of greenhouse gases that create the rise in world temperature.

Answer 3

False…

Water vapour is not responsible global warming, because water vapour can not remain at the atmosphere for longer time. It has to be precipitated in the form of rain. Whereas, CO2 remains in the atmosphere for much longer time. Higher concentration of CO2 prevents earth’s heat from escaping, thereby causing global warming.

For further information on other environmental issues, please refer blog:

http://www.environmentengineering.blogsp...

Answer 4

True.

Answer 5

FALSE, and here's why.  

Water causes most of the greenhouse effect.  But it CAN"T CAUSE TEMPERATURE TO INCREASE BY ITSELF.  Excess water vapor in the air just falls out as precipitation.  Very rapidly, it's essentially impossible to make it faster than it's removed.  Its' greenhouse effect is steady.

But excess CO2 from burning fossil fuels just keeps increasing.  That's what causes the INCREASE in temperature.

More details here:

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

Answer 6

http://treestostay.blogspot.com/

Answer 7

False.

Water vapor accounts for 99% of the greenhouse effect.

The greenouse effect sets the equilibrium temperature of the Earth.

Global warming is the higher equilibrium temperature resulting from a change in the strength of the greenhouse effect.

The two are not the same thing.

Answer 8

It's responsible for most of the greenhouse effect, and some of the warming indirectly.  You'd have to define what you mean exactly by global warming to quantify its effect. As the question stands I'd say false.

Answer 9

False

Deniers often say that "95%/99% of this warming is caused by water vapor."

However, this statement that is often regurgitated by skeptics is (a) a misquote, (b) wrong, and (c) misleading.

a) The often heard 95% was actually misquoted from a couple of climate change deniers who wrote an opinion back in 1995. What they actually said was “90 to 95 percent [of outgoing infrared radiation from the Earth is] absorbed by water in the form of clouds and/or water vapor.”[1]

b) If one could remove all water vapor and clouds then about 34% of outgoing long wave radiation would still be absorbed, and conversely, if only water vapor and clouds were present in the atmosphere then approximately 85% of longwave radiation would be absorbed. “Thus the effect of water vapor and clouds is between 66 and 85%.”[2] These numbers are rough estimates, but are very similar to calculations from Ramanathan and Coakley (1978).[3]

c) That water vapor contributes 95% (or 66 to 85%) of the greenhouse effect is misleading because water vapor responds more through a feedback mechanism than as a forcing agent. Water vapor obviously has greenhouse effect properties (absorbs outgoing longwave radiation and warms Earth’s surface) and it’s responsible for making Earth hospitable to life. If no greenhouse gases existed in our atmosphere, then global temperatures would be about 30°C (55° Fahrenheit) cooler. Water would be locked away as ice, and life would probably not be possible.

But water vapor cannot cause or force an increase in temperatures. If one artificially increased water vapor concentrations, then it’ll rain or snow. If you artificially remove moisture from the atmosphere, then evaporation of water from the oceans will increase.

It is the other greenhouse gases that are causing a climate change. Remember, climate change is about CHANGE. The atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased by about 35% since the times of industrialization and is now 385 ppm.

Answer 10

True and false. True it is responsible for alot of the greenhouse effect. False that it is causing the current increase in warming, that is due to CO2.

Answer 11

False.

Water vapor is a very important greenhouse gas, but it's not responsible for 99% of the recent warming. If that were possible, then we would have already experience run-away warming.  As temperature increases (from any cause), the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases (causing additional warming).  But clearly a 1% warming caused by some other source, will not result in an increase of water vapor sufficient to cause the additional 99% of recent warming.

Answer 12

The term "GLOBAL WARMING" means different things to different people, so without a brief explanation on what it means to YOU, the question can be easily misinterpreted.

I don't wanna assume anything, so as it is I can only answer FALSE on the percentage.

Can you elaborate on the question?

Answer 13

False.   It is mostly what keeps the globe warm, but is not what has made the temperature rise from its steady baseline in the last few decades.

Answer 14

false.

"Water causes most of the greenhouse effect. But it CAN"T CAUSE TEMPERATURE TO INCREASE."

You should try to reword this Bob, because even if it is just a feedback, it still causes temperatures to increase (and under AGW theory, has caused a majority of the recent warming as a feedback). You could say that water vapor cannot be a driver of climate change, though even this is false, because if water vapor production rises (from factories and the like), the water vapor in the air cannot precipitate out fast enough.

"Very rapidly, it's essentially impossible to make it faster than it's removed."

This is wrong, Bob. It takes days to weeks to precipitate out. If production of water vapor remains at a constant, the water vapor cannot precipitate out fast enough.

Answer 15

Everything I read says about 95%. It is true that water vapor is a strong greenhouse gas, and CO2 is minor.

http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.c...

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/images/7...

Consider the desert where temps rise into the 100+ range in the day, but fall drastically at night. Now compare that to a humid day where temps remain high all night. The CO2 content is about the same, but only the humid air is able to retain the heat. CO2 is a very minor greenhouse gas.

Answer 16

False

Water vapor is ~90% by volume of greenhouse gas

but ~80% if measured by mass.

Answer 17

False.

Water vapor is responsible for 36-66% of the greenhouse effect.  However, it's responsible for less of the recent global warming, because it's a feedback, not a forcing.  See Myth #9 at the link below.