For many years, climate change has been a critical issue within the scientific community, but a new undertaking has certainly raised the stakes.
The UK government has authorized scientists to experiment with ‘dimming the sun’ as a potential solution to combat climate change and global warming.
Researchers at the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) have been allocated £50 million (approximately $66 million) to carry out experiments aimed at releasing particles into the atmosphere to reflect more of the sun’s rays.
If this scenario sounds familiar, it might be because it’s reminiscent of the premise of the film Snowpiercer, starring Chris Evans.
In the movie, most life on Earth perishes after humanity tries to alter the atmosphere to tackle climate change.
Let’s hope this new endeavor doesn’t lead to such a catastrophic outcome for humanity.
The proposed experiment involves using high-altitude aircraft to disperse sulfate particles in the stratosphere, which is close to the lower atmosphere, to reflect sunlight away from the Earth’s surface.
The project could soon see small-scale indoor tests followed by a larger initiative in the stratosphere.
This method could potentially offer an economical way to cool the planet, as suggested by preliminary modeling studies.
Mark Symes, the project manager at Aria, explained the importance of this research to the Guardian.
He stated: “The uncomfortable truth is that our current warming trajectory makes a number of such tipping points distinctly possible over the next century.
“Having spoken to hundreds of researchers, we reached the conclusion that a critical missing part of our understanding was real-world, physical data.
These would show us whether any of these potential approaches would actually work and what their effects might be.”
Despite the promising prospects, some experts have voiced concerns, emphasizing the need to focus on reducing global carbon emissions immediately.
Professors Michael Mann from the University of Pennsylvania and Raymond Pierrehumbert from the University of Oxford highlighted their concerns to the Guardian, stating: “The Aria geoengineering program is a dangerous distraction from the work that needs to be done to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.”
Furthermore, this approach could inadvertently lead to significant and potentially disastrous changes in weather patterns and agricultural productivity.