Pollution may have cooling effect but it is still very harmful

A group of scientists from University of Manchester disclosed that artificially-made pollutants along with natural emissions may have unexpected cooling effects on climate of Earth as both make the clouds brighter.

Elaborating the findings of their new research they said clouds are made of tiny drops that concentrated as tiny suspended particles in the air and if the air gets humid these small particles blow out droplets lying in the clouds. In a non-technical language we can say that various pollutants that suspend in the air mix with the small droplets of the clouds and cool the climate.

The study author Professor Gordon McFiggans from the University of Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences revealed that emissions from forests and vehicles formed the organic compounds that eventually affect the droplets, brighten the clouds and eventually put cooling effects on climate.

Effect is not huge

But the most noteworthy aspect of this research is the inability of scientists to ascertain the extent of cooling effects that pollution can put over the climate, as the study published in the journal

Nature Geoscience says. It means its effect may be not as huge as it can put a little positive impact on overall climate of our world.

Surprising studies

It is interesting that during previous half month this is the second research that made certain surprising disclosures regarding pollution. Earlier another study conducted by a professor of environmental sciences and engineering Jason Surratt at the Gilling School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill along with his colleagues disclosed that trees may also add into air pollution. According to them trees emit a molecule isoprene that after mixing with nitrogen oxide - that is emitted by vehicles - can create tiny particulate matter that suspends in the air and people around such air after inhaling it may fall prey to various respiratory diseases and lung cancer is top of them.

No change in previous studies

Now this is the second study that instead of terming pollution more harmful, disclosed that it may have cooling effect on climate. But its cooling effects intensity is not as huge as it may offset the rising level of global warming around the world. While in earlier study trees have a harm that also works if they are planted on busy roads where vehicles emit nitrogen oxide in abundance and affect the lungs of people by mixing with a substance isoprene released by trees. Apart from this tiny negative impact, trees have unlimited advantages for both environment and economy. They are still major source of mitigation in air pollution and also contribute in keeping our ecosystem in balance.

In short such revealing studies does not have any major impact over the earlier discovered harms of pollution and also of the benefits we get from various natural phenomena like trees, air etc. Therefore, we must continue our efforts to help control all types of pollution and save environment from all kinds of hazards.