If we want cleaner air, fewer forest fires, and less severe climate change, a new UC Riverside study shows we must reduce aerosol pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide at the same time.
If we want cleaner air, fewer forest fires, and less severe climate change, a new UC Riverside study shows we must reduce aerosol pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide at the same time.
The study found that boreal forests in the northern hemisphere are particularly vulnerable to negative effects of cleaning up aerosol pollution. This includes forests in Canada, Alaska, northern Europe, and northern Russia.
Aerosols are small particles like dust and sea salt as well as airborne chemicals produced by fossil fuel combustion. They are responsible for poor air quality. The UCR study, published in the journal Science Advances, showed that reducing levels of human-made aerosols causes an increase in wildfires, especially in northern hemisphere forests.
Because aerosol particles like sulfate and their precursors like sulfur dioxide reflect sunlight and help make clouds brighter, removing them means more of the sun’s heat hits the ground.
Read more at University of California - Riverside
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