China’s win on air pollution unleashed an environmental monster, study finds

A study has found that when China registered a major win by cutting down on aerosols in the air and reducing air pollution, it unknowingly unleashed another demon. With significantly low aerosols in the atmosphere, global warming saw a sharp rise. When Beijing fought and won the battle in the early 2010s, it created an environment where storms fueled by aerosols also saw a major drop.

While the country’s efforts led to a brief respite, years later, the climate started warming. Bjørn Samset, a senior researcher at the CICERO Centre for International Climate Research in Norway, told Live Science, “What is happening now is that we’re seeing the full effects of greenhouse-gas-driven warming, which we would sooner or later have to face anyway.”

The change was first noticed in January 2019 when scientists observed shifting wind patterns over the North Pacific. Five powerful cyclones were seen in the Bering Sea one after the other. They drove warm southerly winds across the ice, and air temperatures were 12 to 16 degrees Celsius above normal. Within two months, ice cover had shrunk by a whopping 82 per cent. Scientists struggled to figure out what led to the rapid loss of Arctic sea ice.

Aerosols hid global warming

The latest study published in the journal npj Climate and Atmospheric Science says it came down to China’s fight against air pollution. Authors say that between 2000 and 2014, heavy pollution (aerosols) from Chinese factories created a “shield” in the atmosphere. Aerosols act like a “parasol” for the planet – they reflect sunlight back into space and help create brighter, thicker clouds that block heat. But since 2013, China has cut these emissions by about 75 per cent, removing the shield. This meant that now, with nothing left to block sunlight, Earth was witnessing the full force of greenhouse gas warming. The study has found that aerosols kept winter storms further south. As the air has cleared, cyclones started moving further north into the Arctic.

This warm and moist air is directly entering the Arctic Circle, accelerating the melting of existing sea ice in the Bering Sea and preventing ice from forming in the winter. The frequency of Arctic cyclones has also increased. Scientists say that this finding has shown the amount of warming that was hiding in Earth and was unleashed when the aerosol shield vanished. They say this shows why the world must focus even harder on reducing greenhouse gases.

NOTE – This article was originally published in WION and can be viewed here