Air Pollution: Key Factor Amplifying Negative Effects On Climate

Air pollution is a severe environmental condition giving rise to various diseases. Various human activities such as burning fossil fuels, industrial and vehicle emissions, and many more are critical factors behind this increasing air pollution. A new study has revealed that air pollution amplifies the adverse effects of climate change. It has been found that pollution co-emitted with CO2 can increase the carbon social cost by 66%.

This is the first study carried out by Indian researchers to simulate how aerosol pollution affects climate and air quality in various regions across the globe.

Aerosols are tiny droplets and solid particles that contribute to smog, a mixture of smoke and fog emitted from industries and factories. These aerosols worsen the social cost of carbon.

Brazil, China, East Africa, Western Europe, India, Indonesia, the US, and South Africa, were the eight central regions that were considered for the study.

It was found that emerging economies such as India and East African nations collaborate on emission cuts. This is because each other's emissions have a substantial impact on them.

Carbon dioxide poses the same impact on climate no matter from which area it is coming. On the other hand, aerosol pollutants tend to stay concentrated near the area where they're emitted. This results in a very patchy and dependent effect on the climate system where these aerosols come from.

Aerosols are strong enough to affect human health and the climate. Jennifer Burney, the co-lead author from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, says that CO2 is increasing the global temperature. Still, it also gets emitted with a bunch of other compounds that have a massive impact on humans, other species, and the planet, which also results in climatic changes.

The researchers noticed that aerosol outflows are, in every case, terrible for both the producer and the planet in general. Though aerosols are considered to cool the climate due to the silver lining of counteracting CO2-driven warming, nothing shows any region experiences overall local benefits or generates overall local benefits by emitting aerosols.

Researchers also said that such studies create potentially new motivations for countries to reduce emissions and to care about the planet.

News Source: https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/air-pollution-amplifying-negative-effects-of-climate-change-indian-origin-researcher/articleshow/94453230.cms