A new study by climate researchers Helge Gössling and his team has found that the planet is losing its sparkle due to a steady decline of low-elevation clouds over some ocean regions. This phenomenon, combined with other factors like El Niño cycles and industrial emissions, is driving the global average temperature up.
The researchers used satellite data from NASA and climate reanalysis data to analyze how the global energy budget and cloud cover have changed since 1940. Their findings suggest that the decline in low-level marine clouds is responsible for most of the recent spike in global temperatures, with the Earth’s reflectivity decreasing by about 1.5% since 2023.
The team’s lead author, Gössling, warned that if this trend continues, we can expect intense warming in the future, potentially exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius sooner than expected. Climate researcher Zeke Hausfather added that while the study provides valuable insights, it still raises more questions than answers and highlights the need for further research.
The decline of low-level marine clouds has important consequences, as these clouds contribute to cooling by keeping warmth from the surface in the atmosphere. A decrease in cloud cover means we only lose this cooling effect, making things warmer.
This study is not the first warning about accelerated warming, but it does provide new evidence that human activities are driving changes in cloud behavior. Other research has suggested links between reduced shipping emissions and regional global temperature increases, which the new study confirms.
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Source: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05122024