Published 23:16 IST, April 26th 2019
Solar Geoengineering: Earth's own suntan lotion to counter the scorching heat, scientists ponder on its possibility
Harvard researches have suggested that "stratospheric aerosol injection" or solar engineering would be a possible way to counter rising global warming.
Sunscreen, the human mechanism to fight the sun's scorching heat maybe experimented on the atmosphere too.
Harvard researches have suggested that "stratospheric aerosol injection" or solar engineering would be a possible way to counter rising global warming.
“Solar geoengineering – injecting aerosol particles into the stratosphere to reflect away a little inbound sunlight – is being discussed as a way to cool the planet, fast,” explain leading scientists.
Basically, the suggestion is to create a gaseous sunshade for the earth to protect it from rising global temperatures.
While scientists have claimed solar geoengineering to be outlandish and unsettling as it involves technologies used in science-fiction, they have said that such approaches could be realised technically and politically.
"The technique is controversial, and rightly so. It is too early to know what its effects would be: it could be very helpful or very harmful. Developing countries have the most to gain or lose. In our view, they must maintain their climate leadership and play a central part in research and discussions around solar geoengineering," said scientists to Nature magazine.
The process would involve jets lacing the stratosphere with sunlight-blocking particles, and fleets of ships spraying seawater into low-lying clouds to make them whiter and brighter to reflect sunlight, which does paint a future sci-fi adventure major movie houses may foray into.
People have taken to Twitter to either panic over sun shading earth or to promote the sci-fi vision.
Updated 23:30 IST, April 26th 2019