Heat waves over the Pacific Ocean: The unintended consequence of China’s clean air efforts

Have you ever heard someone say that China controls global warming?

This may be the case as a study showed that this condition was caused unintentionally.

Scientists from a Chinese university have made a surprising discovery. They found that China’s efforts to reduce air pollution may have accidentally increased heat waves in the Pacific Ocean.

From 2010 to 2020, China successfully reduced aerosol emissions that increased temperatures in the northeastern Pacific, causing “heat blobs” that had devastating effects on marine life and the environment.

When China reduced air pollution, it had unexpected effects. Due to the reduction, more sunlight could reach the Earth, causing the temperature to increase. Due to this, summers became longer and winters milder. The change in weather patterns also weakened the winds, which usually cool the sea. As a result, the Pacific Ocean became even warmer.

This had serious consequences, including record-breaking heat in China and severe drought in California from 2013 to 2016. The drought cost billions of dollars and killed more than 100 million trees.

Reducing air pollution is important to prevent premature deaths and respiratory diseases. However, this study shows that governments need to think carefully about how their policies affect climate change.

Researchers are warning China to reconsider its ban on aerosol emissions, as it could cause temperatures to rise even higher.