What leads to increased temperatures as a result of greenhouse gases?

The increase in temperatures due to greenhouse gases is fundamentally linked to their capacity to trap heat within the Earth's atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere and reach the Earth's surface. Once the Earth's surface absorbs this sunlight, it re-radiates the energy as infrared radiation, which has longer wavelengths.

Greenhouse gases are particularly effective at absorbing and re-emitting this infrared radiation, thus preventing it from escaping back into space. This is known as the greenhouse effect, which results in a warming of the Earth's surface and lower atmosphere. As the concentration of these gases increases in the atmosphere, the amount of trapped heat also increases, leading to higher global temperatures.

In contrast, increased sunlight and radiation alone don't account for temperature rises; it is rather the interaction between the incoming solar energy and the trapped heat due to greenhouse gases that primarily drives temperature increases. Similarly, reductions in Earth's albedo or changes in cloud cover might affect temperatures, but these factors do not directly emphasize the central role that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases play in enhancing the greenhouse effect.