Drop in pollution may bring hotter weather and heavier monsoons

Improvement in air quality increases sunlight and affect weather patterns.
Air pollution in cities has dropped by ≥60% in recent weeks.
Cleaner skies due to lockdown are likely to enhance the brightening effect even further, but measuring the impact on climate is not straightforward.
With smaller amounts of aerosol in the atmosphere causing more solar radiation reaching the surface, and thus potentially warmer surface temperatures in regions that usually have high levels of air pollution.
Effect of falling air pollution and disentangling it from the random ups and downs in the weather will be extremely challenging.
Current unusual weather conditions are likely to obscure any increase in temperature resulting from the clearer skies can be considered as Covid climate effect.
Computer simulations showed that rapid cuts in air pollution were likely to accelerate climate change in the future i.e. with rapid increases in air quality results the hottest day of the year may be up to 4C hotter by 2050.
Reductions in Asian air pollution will result in more intense tropical monsoon rains, driven by a greater contrast in temperature between oceans and land.
If the drop in air pollution is sustained for long enough then it might be possible to see its impact on climate.
Cleaner skies are temporarily accelerating climate change hnowever the long-term dangers associated with global warming are far greater.

CLIMATE CHANGE DIARY