Global warming is increasing rapidly
Glaciers are melting, sea surface temperatures are rising. In this situation, a new record for global warming was set last year. Scientists are trying to understand, in various ways, why global warming is increasing.
There are multiple reasons behind global warming. Among these reasons are the increase in the use of fossil fuels and natural disasters like El Niño. But the rate at which global warming is increasing rapidly cannot be explained by these known reasons alone.
In this situation, a recently published research report has named a new reason for global warming. The report in Science (journal) highlights that clouds contribute to the rapid increase in global warming.
New research has shown that low cloud cover over the oceans has decreased rapidly. This is playing a major role in global warming. This trend can cause various problems in the future.
According to Helge F. Goessling, a climate physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, “Fewer bright, low-lying clouds make the Earth appear darker than before.”
This trend is called albedo. It refers to the sunlight that the Earth reflects and scatters back into space as short wavelengths.
The study found that the Earth Albedo has been decreasing since the 1970s. Scientists believe that this is due to the melting of light-colored snow and sea ice, although there are other reasons.
This has increased the number of dark parts of the ocean and land, which are retaining more of the sun’s heat. This is why the Earth is warming.
The new study used data from NASA satellites, weather data, and various climate models. It was found that low-lying clouds reduced the Earth’s albedo record last year. The albedo in the North Atlantic Ocean decreased significantly.
Goessling noted that low cloud cover, typically declining over a decade, has decreased in just the past year. But why this is happening is not yet analyzed. It is quite difficult to explain.
