Clearer skies may be accelerating global warming

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https://www.science.org/content/article/clearer-skies-may-be-accelerating-global-warming

By PAUL VOOSEN, Science. 

Excerpt: When 2023 turned out to be the hottest year in history, it underscored the warnings of some prominent climate scientists, including James Hansen, that the pace of global warming was accelerating and had entered a dangerous new phase. A new study, published Wednesday in Communications Earth & Environment, suggests one reason for such an acceleration: Earth’s skies are getting clearer and letting in more sunshine. ...a set of NASA instruments in space [the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES)] since 2001 have tracked the delicate balance of energy entering and leaving the planet...have detected a marked rise in the amount of solar energy the planet has absorbed—well beyond the warming expected from rising greenhouse gases. The readings show the planet has become less reflective, as if it recently put on a darker shirt. One reason is a drop in light-reflecting pollution because of power-plant scrubbers and cleaner fuels, the researchers say. They calculate that cleaner air could account for 40% of the increased energy warming the planet between 2001 and 2019. ...However, falling pollution may not be the only reason for the brighter skies detected by CERES.... The models were unable to explain up to 40% of the extra absorbed light, and the CERES data show reflectivity falling in both hemispheres, whereas pollution has fallen the most in the north. Both of those observations suggest other factors might be reducing Earth’s reflectivity: Melting snow and ice expose darker land, and warming can cause low marine clouds to dissipate, revealing a dark ocean.... 

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