How the Climate System Works: Precipitation 

As more carbon dioxide is introduced into the atmosphere, our planet becomes warmer. In warmer conditions, more water evaporates from the ocean and land, causing drier areas to lose more water, and wetter areas to receive more rainfall or snow. Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to create fuel, glucose, and other sugars needed to build their plant structures, while releasing oxygen in a process called photosynthesis. When there's more rainfall, plants are able to absorb more carbon dioxide. This is because plants have special cells in their leaves (called stoma) that help them reduce water loss through evaporation. In dry conditions, these plant cells want to keep a smaller opening to avoid losing water as they absorb carbon dioxide. But in wet regions, where the air holds more water vapor, the stoma plant cells can open up more without losing water and as a result, plants can absorb more carbon dioxide. So, with the right combination (of warm temperatures, carbon dioxide, and more rainfall), the growing seasons become longer; giving plants a longer time frame for photosynthesis. And as a result, plants may remove more Carbon Dioxide greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. In the next video, we talk about where most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere goes and how these natural carbon sinks and sources affect the climate system.