Climate lockdown3/10/2023 “Black carbon is a strong absorber of solar radiation. These changes can then further alter atmospheric circulation, temperatures and precipitation. Atmospheric aerosols, such as black carbon and dust, can scatter and absorb incoming solar radiation, thus heating the atmosphere and cooling the surface. India is a hotspot for air pollution and has heavy black carbon and dust levels, the researchers said. “Our results of aerosol-climate interactions indicate co-benefits of future Indian aerosol-reduction for air quality, human health, and climate change.” “The precipitous reduction of air pollution during lockdowns provides a unique testbed for detecting the aerosol effects on weather and climate, by comparing satellite and ground-based observations of meteorological states during lockdowns against those in the historical polluted period,” Liu said. ![]() Zheng Lu, an associate research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M, is also a co-first-author of this research. ![]() We found that aerosol-climate interactions delayed the outbreak of the subsequent Indian summer monsoon in 2020.” By analyzing the atmospheric data, we found that the low dust level was caused by reduced atmospheric heating of black carbon during lockdowns, which induced the easterly wind anomalies, and thus reduced the dust transport from the Middle East and the Sahara. “Surprisingly, we found that dust, which is a natural aerosol, also reached a record low in India. “Black carbon, a type of aerosol from human activities, was dramatically reduced in northern India in April-May 2020 during COVID-19 lockdowns,” Liu said. ![]() The researchers also found black carbon-dust-climate interactions caused the Indian summer monsoon season to start later than usual during the 2020 lockdown.īlack carbon in India modifies the atmospheric winds, which determines dust transport from the Middle East and the Sahara and local dust emissions, said Xiaohong Liu, professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University and a corresponding author of the research, recently published in Nature Communications. The threat of ‘climate lockdowns’ has been alternately presented and “debunked” by mainstream media for months.Using atmospheric data collected in India during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, an international team of scientists has found that black carbon in India regulates dust loadings in the entire country. Some on social media, seeing the “quiet part” said out loud on the first edition of the Guardian article, had an “I told you so” moment. Her co-researcher Glen Peters was more explicit in what latitude countries should have to move away from fossil fuels on their own time, calling for “structural changes” to move economies toward renewable energy. ![]() “There is a real contradiction between what governments are saying they are doing to do, and what they are doing,” Le Quéré told the Guardian, calling the phenomenon “very worrisome.” Also on rt.com World Economic Forum shouted down on Twitter for suggesting Covid-19 lockdowns ‘improved cities all over the world’ From city planning to incentivize “active transport” (walking and cycling) and growing public transportation, to promoting remote work where possible, her suggestions were not exactly new – and unlikely to convince anyone they were sufficient enough. While Le Quéré didn’t come out and suggest people be arbitrarily deprived of their liberties every two years in order to please a climate model, the other “strategic actions” she mentioned to keep some of the gains of the pandemic were already being implemented – and in many cases had been implemented for years. It can’t be about one law or policy, it has to be put at the heart of all policy.”Įvery strategy and every plan from every government must be consistent with tackling climate change. □□ Equivalent of Covid emissions drop needed every two years - study - Hayley Stevenson March 3, 2021ĭespite calling for “completely different methods” to achieve and lock in the emissions drop from the pandemic, lead researcher Corinne Le Quéré nevertheless insisted that climate change couldn’t be a “side issue. Evidently I wasn't the only one who thought the original headline was terrible - the Guardian changed the title, eliminating the suggestion that we need a lockdown every 2 years.
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