Would Blocking Sunlight Will Cool Down Earth?

A new analysis by University of Berkeley researchers show that injecting particles into the Earth's atmosphere in the hope of cooling off the planet and reduce the temperatures caused by climate change will have no effect on crop damage caused by global warming. The team carefully looked at the effects in the past by Earth-cooling volcanic eruptions and the way crops respond to change in sunlight conditions. They concluded that any yield improvement from reduced temperatures will be countered by low productivity due to less sunlight. The findings will have an important impact on solar geo-engineering, a proposed method to help us fight global warming.

There have been people who have pointed out that sulfate aerosols can artificially cool Earth. This is what happens when volcanic eruptions emit these gases which cause global cooling. "It's like putting an umbrella over your head when it's hot", said Proctor, a doctoral fellow at the University. 

Mt.Pinatubo in Philippines, when exploded, injected 20 million tons of sulphur dioxide into atmosphere that reduced average global temperatures by half a degree. The team linked this phenomenon to crop production and found that loss of sunlight led to less yields because of less photosynthesis. The authors emphasized for the need of research in geo-engineering and said that the most certain way to reduce any damage caused by global warming still remains to reduce carbon emissions.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180808134302.htm