Feeling hot?

Everyday almost every UK household produces carbon dioxide through energy use. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change.

To generate electricity, we burn fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) that produce greenhouse gases, in particular carbon dioxide. Cars also produce a lot of carbon dioxide, but more comes from the energy we use at home.

6 tonnes of carbon dioxide are produced by the average house each year.

Carbon dioxide, combined with other gases, when emitted into the atmosphere form a blanket around the Earth, helping to prevent heat from escaping. Without the greenhouse effect, the average temperature on Earth would be around -18 degrees centigrade, compared with the current average of around +15 degrees centigrade.

The increase in the world's temperature has already affected our weather, plants, animals and health, but its impact could be much more dramatic in the future.

Already, over the last 40years, in the UK we have seen warmer winters, heavier rains and hotter, drier summers, which can be attributed to global warming.

In 2003, heat waves killed thousands of people across Europe. By the end of the century, similar heat waves and temperatures of over 40 degrees centigrade could be commonplace in the UK.

Currently, Britain is famous for its green and pleasant lands. If temperatures continue to rise, many of the species of animals and plants that we traditionally associate with Britain may disappear.

With a warmer climate in the UK, the numbers of people suffering from cataracts, skin cancer and even some tropical diseases may increase. In the US, mosquitoes carrying such diseases as Dengue Fever and West Nile virus have started to be recorded as a result of rising temperatures.

Feeling hot? Turn your radiators off.

British Gas is the UK's greenest gas and electricity supplier, central heating provider, and energy efficiency advisor. Reduce your electricbills and carbon footprint by switching to British Gas online today.