Skip to content
Back to the daily read

Daily Read: Science

Earth's Dimming Accelerates Climate Change

A long-term trend of Earth's decreasing reflectivity, or albido, has been observed, leading to increased energy absorption and a widening energy imbalance. This imbalance is driving climate change, with some scientists predicting a 10-30% increase in warming in the coming years.

· Watch on The Economist

The essential points

  1. 01Earth's albido has fallen by 25% over the past 25 years.
  2. 02The decrease in albido is driven by both greenhouse gas emissions and the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions.
  3. 03Removing the cooling effect of sulfur pollution could add up to 1° C of net warming.
  4. 04Scientists are exploring ways to reverse Earth's dimming, but no significant solutions have been developed yet.
The full brief

A long-term trend of Earth's decreasing reflectivity, or albido, has been observed, leading to increased energy absorption and a widening energy imbalance. This imbalance is driving climate change, with some scientists predicting a 10-30% increase in warming in the coming years.