In an Odd Twist, Cleaner Air in China May Mean a Warmer Earth
www.wired.com
Coal plant upgrades led to a dramatic reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions. But those particles also help reflect solar heat away from the planet.
  • LesbianLiberty [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I really don’t understand, there’s 0.1C worth of warming resulting from... what exactly? Do they mean that the world will get 0.1C warmer because they started scrubbing out the things that warm the planet? I am confusion

    • Irockasingranite [she/her]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Particulates in the air reflect sunlight, thus cooling the planet slightly. By reducing the particulates, more light reaches the ground, which very slightly warms the earth more. In this way one kind of pollution (SO2) reduces the effects of another kind (CO2).