Climate and Atmospheric Pollutants

Air pollution can include soot, smoke, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, CO2, dust and anything that makes life unhealthy. It takes the rain on average ten days to wash the air of pollutants, such as dust, soot, and water soluble chemicals. Air pollution can travel from one side side of the world to another.

Ozone low in the atmosphere becomes smog. It is formed when pollutants from cars, trucks, and factories react with sunlight. Ozone burns the lungs. However, ozone high in the stratosphere forms a kind of sunscreen for the Earth, providing protection for life from the suns harmful rays.

The good news is that our air quality is better than is was 20 years ago. The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments reduced industry emission of six main pollutants: lead, carbon monoxide, ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and small particulate matter. The act did not reduce carbon dioxide.

Source:
https://climate.nasa.gov/quizzes/air-we-breathe-quiz/

Nasa monitors 3 things:

• How much of the Sun’s energy is hitting the Earth; how much energy is reflected back into space; how much energy is trapped/absorbed
• Brightness of the Earth - Ice is white. White reflects sunlight back into space and cools the Earth. Exposed darker waters will absorb more of the sun’s rays and heat. As sea ice shrinks, the earth becomes darker and hotter.
• Greenhouse gas emissions - Water vapour is the world’s most abundant greenhouse gas. Clouds block out the sun, but also create a blanket around the planet, trapping heat. Carbon dioxide is the second most abundant greenhouse gas. We can reduce CO2 by burning less fossil fuels.

Signs of Climate Change:

• record high level temperatures (since recorded in the last 150 years)
• Sea level rises
• Arctic ice sheet decline