SciencePublished
Earth's Dimming Accelerates Climate Change
A long-term trend of Earth's decreasing reflectivity, or albido, has been observed, leading to increased energy absorption and a widening energy imbalance. This imbalance is driving climate change, with some scientists predicting a 10-30% increase in warming in the coming years.
At a glance
- Earth's albido has fallen by 25% over the past 25 years.
- The decrease in albido is driven by both greenhouse gas emissions and the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions.
- Removing the cooling effect of sulfur pollution could add up to 1° C of net warming.
- Scientists are exploring ways to reverse Earth's dimming, but no significant solutions have been developed yet.