Climate change is worrying
The world has been facing various catastrophes because of climate change and the phenomenon has been witnessing an increase since the past few decades now.
Though the world leaders including the United Nations have been expressing serious concerns over the worsening climatic change no major effort is being seen especially the developing world to address this serious concern.
Even the developed world has turned a blind eye towards this grave issue and no policy decision is being taken to address issues that contribute a lot to the climate changes. One such issue is the wildfires happening around major developed nations as these wildfires are acting as a major source of air pollution. They are also predicted to worsen as climate change progresses.
Within the smoke particles produced by these fires is a wide range of organic chemical compounds known as brown carbon. Brown carbon absorbs sunlight, and in doing so, contributes to global warming.
Over time, the brown carbon is bleached by chemical reactions with oxidants in the atmosphere (such as ozone) and becomes white. This means that it stops absorbing light and stops warming Earth.
This bleaching process is heavily dependent on atmospheric conditions, which vary across regions. The longer it takes for brown carbon to become white, the greater an impact it can have on the environment.
Notably, previously it was assumed that reactions between brown carbon and ozone were relatively fast. Within one day of being emitted from a fire, brown carbon would mostly stop absorbing solar radiation. But now, through a combination of laboratory experiments and atmospheric simulations, it is clear that the reaction between brown carbon and ozone can be significantly slower.
Experiments on pine wood smoke showed that brown carbon quickly lost its colour when exposed to ozone in a warm, humid environment. Conversely, when the temperature and humidity were decreased, the brown carbon remained. This is because temperature and humidity change the viscosity of aerosol particles.
The result is significantly different when we put this new, longer-lasting brown carbon into an atmospheric model that simulates the transport of aerosols around the planet and how they interact with solar radiation.
The new results have shown a warming effect on the climate from brown carbon that is twice that of the previous estimate. This represents another important piece of the climate puzzle which needs to be addressed immediately.
Research on aerosols can bring us closer to understanding their total effect on the environment, which will make us more prepared and better equipped to deal with the future of our planet. All this needs to be taken up on a war footing as any delay can lead to many other complications which the planet may not be able to comply with.
KV News
