Deflecting the sun’s rays with space mirrors to cool the earth to warm it – is it possible?

One such idea is to deflect the Sun’s rays as a part of solar geoengineering to help cool the Earth.

There are various possible climate interventions to try to artificially stop global heating, such as brightening clouds to make them more reflective of sunlight, but the option considered by scientists to be the most likely is the spraying of aerosol particles, such as sulphur, in the stratosphere according to a report published by Guardian,

What is Solar Geoengineering?

Solar geoengineering, or solar radiation modification (SRM), is a type of climate engineering in which sunlight (solar radiation) will be reflected back into outer space in order to limit or reverse human-caused climate change.

The basic mechanisms behind this are well understood – volcanic eruptions similarly dim sunlight – but solar geoengineering has faced serious opposition when it has been attempted, fear of unknown environmental knock-offs surrounding the practice. Due to concerns over lack of governance.

There are several proposed solar geoengineering technologies. These include marine cloud brightening, cirrus cloud thinning, space-based techniques, and stratospheric aerosol scattering, among others.

A UNEP report states that the spraying of reflective particles is “the only known approach that can be used to cool the Earth within a few years” and that it would take tens of thousands of years a year to achieve a reduction of 1C globally. Billions of dollars will be spent. temperature.

support from the world

Although governments have still failed to cut emissions fast enough to avoid catastrophic climate change, there is support among some powerful entities to research, if not fully deploy, solar geoengineering.

The US government has already launched a research review of climate interventions. In addition, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) also issued a report to further study the options.

negative impact

But it also acknowledges a long list of potential dangers, such as damage to the ozone layer, potential power imbalances and conflicts between countries, and the risk of “termination shock”, which would result in an explosion of pique if the particles suddenly stopped spraying. Up global heating.

“The idea that we could control the global thermostat and dial down temperature levels to desired positions has been debunked repeatedly by the scientific community. But it is a very attractive idea to big polluters and governments. are unwilling to invest in the radical system transformation change that is urgently needed,” said Lily Fuhr, deputy director for climate and energy at the Center for International Environmental Law.

“Climate model simulations consistently show that SRM may offset some of the effects of increasing greenhouse gases on global and regional climate, including the carbon and water cycle, but may lead to substantial residual or extreme climate change at regional scales.” According to a report from the United Nations.