Which one among the following substances is NOT a 'green house' gas?

The correct answer is Nitrogen.

Key Points

• Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface, the atmosphere itself, and by clouds.
• This property causes the greenhouse effect.
• The GHGs are transparent to incoming solar radiation but are opaque to some wavelengths of heat radiated from the Earth.
• So, they trap heat, which leads eventually to a warming of the lower atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse effect.
• The Primary GHGs are Water vapour, Carbon dioxide, Methane, and Ozone.
• Other GHGs are carbon monoxide, fluorinated gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), black carbon (soot), and brown carbon.

• Nitrogen oxides are major air pollutants, not the primary GHGs.