Overview
- Researchers report that simulations attribute roughly 0.044°C of extra global warming from 2013 to 2023 to declines in human-made near-surface aerosols.
- China’s pollution controls account for about 0.018°C of that rise, with other land regions adding about 0.013°C and lower sulfur from ships adding about 0.013°C.
- The shipping share follows the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 rule that cut allowed sulfur in marine fuel from 3.5% to 0.5%, which reduced sulfur oxide aerosols from vessels.
- The team notes recent warming has quickened from about 0.179°C per decade in 1970–2012 to about 0.263°C per decade in 2013–2023, and projects the aerosol-related share could reach about 0.078°C by 2050.
- Aerosols cool by scattering sunlight and helping clouds form, yet their effects are short-lived and uncertain, and experts stress air-quality gains save lives as shown by EU data linking about 239,000 annual deaths to fine-particle pollution.