A recent study from the University of Miami has revealed a paradigm shift in our understanding of the acceleration of global warming over the past two decades. The study, which relied on two decades of space-based data, challenges the prevailing belief that improved air quality and reduced pollutants are the main reason for the accelerated warming.
The study indicates that changes in clouds and their properties are the most important factor in rising global temperatures. It explained that pollution control efforts in the Northern Hemisphere have led to a decrease in polluting particles that used to help clouds reflect sunlight.
In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere has witnessed an increase in natural particles as a result of the massive Australian bushfires and the eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano, leading to the formation of brighter clouds with a greater ability to reflect heat.
Surprisingly, these two opposing trends have largely balanced out globally, suggesting that the change in pollution levels was not the fundamental cause of accelerated warming, as previously thought.
The data shows that the Earth is absorbing increasing amounts of solar energy, not because of a decrease in heat radiation emitted into space, but because of profound changes in cloud behavior worldwide. The role of clouds has shifted from an element that mitigates warming to a factor that accelerates it, as a result of climate change itself.
The study calls for the development of more accurate and comprehensive climate models, taking into account the complex interaction between human and natural factors. While emphasizing that “greenhouse gases” are still the primary driver of long-term warming, the discovery of new roles for natural elements such as clouds in determining the pace of this warming continues.
