Without clouds Earth could boil Venus-style

摘要

WHETHER fluffy or ephemeral, clouds may not look like much of a protector. But without them, a new study suggests. Earth would be a lot like Venus with its evaporated seas and sweltering 460 ℃ heat.A phenomenon known as the runaway greenhouse effect is thought to be responsible for the Venusian climate. This occurs when a critical rise in temperature evaporates more water from a planet's oceans, loading its atmosphere with water vapour. Water vapour is a potent greenhouse gas, so it absorbs thermal radiation from the sun-warmed surface, making things even hotter.