Clouds’ response to pollution clarified with new climate analysis
How the properties of clouds change in response to local pollution - mainly from coal burning and ship engines - has been more accurately determined. This finding, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , could help scientists to better model what future global temperatures will be with increased greenhouse gas concentrations. Knowing how aerosols have modified cloud properties in the past and present climate helps us to better understand how much the Earth is likely to warm under different future scenarios of greenhouse gas levels. Dr Edward Gryspeerdt Clouds are accumulations of water droplets that usually form around very small particles, known as aerosols. These aerosols include desert dust, soot or compounds called sulphates. Human activities can increase the local concentrations of these aerosols. For example, burning coal releases soot and sulphates, creating local hotspots of aerosols over power plants or cities.
