Editing Greenhouse effect (section)

=== Greenhouse effect and temperature ===

Typically, a planet will be close to radiative equilibrium, with the rates of incoming and outgoing energy being well-balanced. Under such conditions, the planet's equilibrium temperature is determined by the mean solar irradiance and the planetary albedo (how much sunlight is reflected back to space instead of being absorbed).

The greenhouse effect measures how much warmer the surface is than the overall effective temperature of the planet. So, the effective surface temperature, <math>T_\mathrm{surface,eff}</math>, is, using the definition of <math>\Delta T_\mathrm{GHE}</math>,

:<math>T_\mathrm{surface,eff} = T_\mathrm{eff} + \Delta T_\mathrm{GHE} \;.</math>

One could also express the relationship between <math>T_\mathrm{surface,eff}</math> and <math>T_\mathrm{eff}</math> using {{mvar|''G''}} or {{mvar|''g̃''}}.

So, the principle that a larger greenhouse effect corresponds to a higher surface temperature, if everything else (i.e., the factors that determine <math>T_\mathrm{eff}</math>) is held fixed, is true as a matter of definition.

Note that the greenhouse effect influences the temperature of the planet as a whole, in tandem with the planet's tendency to move toward radiative equilibrium.<ref name="Modest2021" />