CHEMISTRY Research: Global Dimming and its implications

-Krisha Kalsi, DP1

Q) What is Global Dimming? What are its implications? To what extent does it contribute
towards air pollution?

Climate change is often correlated to the rising temperatures of our planet, i.e., global warming.
However, in a research published in the journal Geophysical research letters in 2005, a team led by
Beate Liepert at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory reported that there was a significant decline
between 1950 and 1990 in the amount of sun reaching the Earth’s surface. 1 This is one of many
pieces of research that noticed this trend. Gerry Stanhill, who studied the declining temperature
worldwide in numerous papers coined the term ‘Global dimming’.

Global dimming can be considered the antithesis to global warming or global brightening. It is
defined as the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance, resulting in less energy
from the sun reaching the Earth’s surface. This change is not thought to be caused by changes in the
sun’s luminosity as the variations in solar activity are agreed to ‘play only a very small role in Earth’s
climate’ according to the UNIPCC.2 So, what causes global dimming?

The trend of decreasing temperatures saw a reversal in the 1990s in certain regions, which coincided
with the European and North American clean air legislation. 3 This curtailing of coal-burning resulted
in global brightening. Whereas, countries such as India and China have experienced increasing global
dimming matching the rapid industrialization. This shows that increasing quantities of air pollution
are the primary cause behind global dimming. More specifically, air pollution in question includes
tiny particles of aerosols such as soot, ash, and sulfur compounds. resulting from the combustion of
fossil fuels. Aerosols are colloids of fine solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the air. They
result in a cooling effect in two ways: the formation of a reflective layer, and the formation of
polluted clouds with higher reflectivity. Most aerosols in the atmosphere scatter and reflect light
from the sun back into space.

Furthermore, aerosols are also responsible for altering the optical properties of clouds. The presence
of man-made aerosol particles increases the number of sites where water droplets can condense.
These particles act as a nucleating agent for water droplets and an increase in their quantity leads to
more, but smaller, cloud droplets. This increases the cloud's surface area and its albedo (a measure

1
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory News, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, 14 Apr. 2006,
www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news/2006/04_14_06.htm.

2
“What Is the Sun's Role in Climate Change? – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 6
Sept. 2019, 11:24 PDT, climate.nasa.gov/blog/2910/what-is-the-suns-role-in-climate-
change/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20United%20Nations,small%20role%20in%20Earth's
%20climate.

3
Clark, Duncan. “What Is Global Dimming?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 May 2012,
10.41 BST, www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/may/11/global-dimming-pollution.
of how much light hitting a surface is reflected), resulting in increased reflection of sunlight and a
cooling effect.

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation 4

The significant cooling effect caused by clouds polluted with aerosols is demonstrated by this graph:

Figure 2: Graph by Robert Simmon, based on data from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies 5

There was an abundance of sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere due to eruptions of mount
Pinatubo(1991) and Chichon (1982) volcanoes. 5 The spikes in aerosol optical thickness were
accompanied by steep drops in temperature. This justifies the correlation between aerosol pollution
and the colling effect.

Pollution from burning coal caused a net cooling effect in the mid-to-late 20 th century. However, as
aerosol emissions were controlled and greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise, the cooling
effect was overwhelmed by the warming effect of greenhouse gases, and global warming resumed. 6
Still, global dimming persists, masking the true severity of global warming.

Global dimming has wide-reaching implications. In the previously mentioned research, Beate Liepert
and her team also concluded that ‘the imbalance between a decline in solar radiation and warming
surface temperatures will lead to weaker turbulent heat fluxes and reduced evaporation and
precipitation.’1 This would lead to a warmer, drier climate characterized by humid weather. Lower

4
“7.5.2 Indirect Effects of Aerosols on Clouds and Precipitation.” 7.5.2 Indirect Effects of Aerosols on
Clouds and Precipitation - AR4 WGI Chapter 7: Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and
Biogeochemistry, 2007, archive.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch7s7-5-2.html.

5
“Clouds Are Cooler than Smoke.” NASA, NASA, 27 July 2004,
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/SmokeClouds/smoke_clouds2.php.

6
Chameides, Bill. “The Old Global Cooling Scare.” Climate 411, Environmental Defense Fund, 30 Apr.
2007, blogs.edf.org/climate411/2007/04/30/global_cooling/.
amounts of heat energy reaching water bodies on Earth mean that less water escapes into the
atmosphere to fall as rain. The decline in precipitation is further accentuated by aerosols which
suppress the development of larger raindrops which are essential for the formation of efficient
raindrops. These changes in the hydrological cycle and rainfall pattern can hamper freshwater
availability for humans and would exacerbate the existing water crisis. Many in the scientific
community also suggest that the deadly sub-Saharan droughts in the 1970s and 1980s were a result
of dimming. Moreover, due to less precipitation, pollutants will likely remain in the atmosphere for
longer, eventually resulting in acid rain.

Exposure to sunlight is also essential for plants. Dimming would make it harder for plants to undergo
photosynthesis, resulting in a decline in vegetative density. Global dimming is also found to reduce
the yield of shallow canopies such as grasslands and certain crops. On the other hand, taller
canopies such as forests still derive some benefit despite decreased overall exposure to sunlight. The
diffusion of light by aerosols makes it more accessible to taller canopies as compared to direct
sunlight.7

Additionally, lower irradiance would cause lower output from solar panels, creating a challenge for
solar energy harvesting. Nonetheless, global dimming also creates opportunities. Its ability to
counteract the effects of global warming has given rise to geoengineering techniques, attempting to
mitigate the impacts of climate change. Recently, this field of research has seen much investment
and breakthroughs. However, the debate around its potential side effects on the climate and
ecosystems of our planet exists.

7
Roesch, A., Wild, M., and Ammann, C., “Global dimming and brightening - evidence and agricultural
implications”, p. 14479, 2012.
REFERENCES:

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory News, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, 14 Apr. 2006,
www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news/2006/04_14_06.htm.

“What Is the Sun's Role in Climate Change? – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 6 Sept.
2019, 11:24 PDT, climate.nasa.gov/blog/2910/what-is-the-suns-role-in-climate-
change/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20United%20Nations,small%20role%20in%20Earth's
%20climate.

Clark, Duncan. “What Is Global Dimming?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 May 2012, 10.41 BST,
www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/may/11/global-dimming-pollution.

“7.5.2 Indirect Effects of Aerosols on Clouds and Precipitation.” 7.5.2 Indirect Effects of Aerosols on Clouds and
Precipitation - AR4 WGI Chapter 7: Couplings Between Changes in the Climate System and
Biogeochemistry, 2007, archive.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch7s7-5-2.html.

“Clouds Are Cooler than Smoke.” NASA, NASA, 27 July 2004,

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/SmokeClouds/smoke_clouds2.php.

Witcher, Deborah. Major Events, Scenarios, and Risks to Civilization, Humans & Planet Earth. Revised ed.,
University Publication, 2016.

Chameides, Bill. “The Old Global Cooling Scare.” Climate 411, Environmental Defense Fund, 30 Apr. 2007,
blogs.edf.org/climate411/2007/04/30/global_cooling/.

Roesch, A., Wild, M., and Ammann, C., “Global dimming and brightening - evidence and agricultural
implications”, p. 14479, 2012.

“NASA Study Untangles Smoke, Pollution Effects on Clouds – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA,
NASA, 24 Sept. 2018, climate.nasa.gov/news/2808/nasa-study-untangles-smoke-pollution-effects-on-
clouds/.

“TINY PARTICLES OF POLLUTION MAY CARRY LARGE CONSEQUENCES FOR EARTH'S WATER SUPPLY.” University
of California, San Diego: External Relations: News & Information: News Releases : Scripps Institute of
Oceanography, Regents of the University of California, 6 Dec. 2001,
ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/archive/newsrel/science/INDOEX.htm.

“Science & Nature - Horizon.” BBC, BBC, 17 Sept. 2014,

www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/dimming_prog_summary.shtml.