Airborne microplastics could make climate change worse

Tiny plastic particles drifting in Earth’s atmosphere could have a significant warming effect, new study suggests

By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron

Microplastic particles circulating through Earth’s atmosphere could be quietly raising global temperatures, a new study suggests.

Microplastics and nanoplastics, tiny pieces of decomposed plastic pollution, litter the world’s rivers, oceans, land and air. But so far, researchers I wasn’t sure what effect all these plastic particles had on an already warming climate.

A new study conducted by researchers at Fudan University in China suggests that particles can significantly affect warming: for comparison, the heating effect of microplastics is about 16% of that of black carbon, or soot.

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“This article reveals a very disturbing truth about the dangers of micro- and nanoplastics,” says Steve Allen, microplastics researcher to the environmental advocacy organization Healthy Earth, which was not involved in the study.

If you’ve ever walked barefoot on asphalt, you know that black matter absorbs heat. The white paint on the asphalt reflects it, however. The same thing happens with airborne microplastics: darker colors warm the atmosphere, while lighter colors help cool it. By analyzing the optical properties of various microplastics in the laboratory and simulating their effect on a global scale, the authors of the new study estimated that the warming capabilities of microplastics exceed their potential cooling effects, something current climate models do not take into account.

The results were published Monday in Natural climate change.

The results reveal “a long-neglected link” between plastics and climate changesaid Hongbo Fu, co-author of the study and researcher at Fudan University in China, at a press conference. Plastics are not just a environmental pollutant. “They can also act as a heating agent in the atmosphere,” he said.

“We still have a lot to learn about the exact number of these [microplastics] “This is not the last word.”

It’s not clear how many microplastics are actually in the atmosphere. But the study team argues that global climate assessments, such as those published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), must take these particles into account. “Our work suggests that climate models need to be updated,” Fu said. “The IPCC should take note.”

More broadly, Allen says the findings highlight the need to reduce our reliance on plastics, which are often made from byproducts of fossil fuel production.

“What needs to be looked at is the carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of plastic production, which add to the total effect of climate change,” he says. The “take home message” is “that we can reduce climate change by removing plastic from our lives.”