Clouds do not retain heat. Rather they reflect longwave radiation that contributes to heat fluxes on the ground. Relative to other greenhouse gases, [CO2] pales in comparison with water vapor, but exceeds CH4 and N2O by a few orders of magnitude. Molecule to molecule, however, CO2 excells at trapping radiation compared to water vapor. And CH4 and N2O reflect even more radiation than a molecule of CO2 but they are in much lower [ ] than CO2.
Water vapor cannot be directly attributed to anthropogenic emissions but rather as a positive feedback from the net flux of CO2, which goes something like this:
CO2 increases -> temperature increases -> latent heat flux increases -> humidity increases -> atm water vapor increases -> temperature increases
As for your kilimanjaro explanation, deforestation would result in a significant decrease in the sensible heat flux in the area, reducing humidity and such, but water would first have to condensate first in order to be frozen. In order to have water to change states 3 times in a relatively short amount of time, pressure, and distance, there would have to be over a huge temperature difference between the forest and the glaciers. Assuming it is a temperate forest, such a huge dT would not exist. However, I am unfamiliar with the kilimanjaro geography and wind patterns.
Water vapor cannot be directly attributed to anthropogenic emissions but rather as a positive feedback from the net flux of CO2, which goes something like this:
CO2 increases -> temperature increases -> latent heat flux increases -> humidity increases -> atm water vapor increases -> temperature increases
As for your kilimanjaro explanation, deforestation would result in a significant decrease in the sensible heat flux in the area, reducing humidity and such, but water would first have to condensate first in order to be frozen. In order to have water to change states 3 times in a relatively short amount of time, pressure, and distance, there would have to be over a huge temperature difference between the forest and the glaciers. Assuming it is a temperate forest, such a huge dT would not exist. However, I am unfamiliar with the kilimanjaro geography and wind patterns.
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