Uneven climate modification

The amount of intervention required for optimum managing of climate change differs by region, and diverges for India and China, according to a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Use of solar-radiation management leads to a reduction in extremes of temperature and precipitation for most regions, but if this option is pursued, it could prove difficult to achieve global consensus on the desired level of climate modification.

Katharine Ricke and colleagues simulated the climate outcomes if different amounts of reflecting aerosols were to be added to the upper atmosphere as a means of mitigating climate change. They performed a number of climate simulations for 54 scenarios with distinct modifications of the reflectivity of the upper atmosphere. The authors conclude that precipitation and temperature cannot be stabilized by the same degree of climate modification, and that it may not be possible to stabilize climate simultaneously in China and India.

doi: 10.1038/ngeo915

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