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Warming imperils clouds that deter ‘hothouse’ conditions
Why in news?
- Marine clouds that protect us from hothouse Earth conditions by reflecting sunlight back into space could break up and vanish if CO2 in the atmosphere triples, researchers warned.
More in the news
Marine clouds:
- So-called stratocumulus clouds cover about 20% of subtropical oceans.
- Mostly near western seaboards such as the coasts of California, Mexico and Peru.
Concerns shown in the study:
- When these clouds disappear, Earth warms dramatically, by about eight degrees Celsius.
- In addition to the global warming that comes from enhanced greenhouse concentrations alone.
- A temperature increase of that magnitude would melt polar ice and lift sea levels tens of meters.
- The last time the planet was that hot, some 50 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch, crocodiles roamed the Arctic.
- Even half that much warming would overwhelm humanity's capacity to adapt.
- A barely one-degree increase since the mid-19th century — mostly in the last 50 years has been enough to worsen heatwaves, droughts, and flooding.
Source
The Hindu