What caused our planet to heat up more?
Last reviewed: 07.06.2024
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As the number of aerosol microparticles in the atmosphere decreases, our planet receives more sunlight.
Over the past decade, the atmosphere has become much cleaner in some places on the planet. At the same time, the heating of the earth has increased. This was reported by scientists from Norwegian, British, German and American research centers. The sun's rays, approaching the earth's surface, are partially reflected, partially absorbed. Then there is a "re-radiation" of the absorbed energy by infrared rays.
Reflected radiation and temperature changes can be determined thanks to satellite observations. Scientists used information from satellites collected over several years: they found that our planet has been accumulating more heat since 2015.
Greenhouse emissions, which play the role of a kind of heat-insulating layer between space and the Earth, may be involved. Another possible reason is that the planet has been heated by more sunlight due to a decrease in the number of reflecting microparticles in the atmosphere.
Scientists analyzed this phenomenon in detail. As a result, it was found that in some cases the heating of the planet is indeed explained by a decrease in the number of aerosol microparticles, and this information did not come as a surprise to researchers. However, scientists have now traced the quantitative relationship between the temperature regime of the planet and direct phenomena of climate change. Thus, the decrease in the presence of aerosol microparticles in Asian countries led to a weakening of stable winds - monsoons, and in the north - to an increase in seasonal heat and summer storm winds.
Microparticles reflect the sun's rays well and also influence the characteristics of clouds: clouds become thicker and brighter with the presence of aerosols, and their "life" becomes longer. At the same time, such microparticles often play the role of polluting agents, and their decreasing abundance indicates improvements in the technology of large-scale industries and the ecological health of the earth.
Nevertheless, the improvement of the ecological situation is not registered on the whole planet. Mostly, we are talking about the northern regions, and at the same time, the heating of the planet has increased both from the north and the south. It turns out that the matter is not only in reflecting microparticles. The melting of glaciers, which are a significant reflector of solar radiation, has an additional impact. As a result of global warming processes, the mass of clouds over large water bodies has decreased, allowing the sun to direct its rays unhindered onto the surface of water, which absorbs heat. Wind and current directions are also important, which, in one way or another, have a connection with greenhouse emissions. Most scientists are sure that these factors jointly influence the appearance of "excess" heat on the planet, and the matter here is not only in the reduction in the number of aerosol microparticles.
For more information, please visit the scientific publication page at Communications earth & environment