Could Climate Change Make Earth's Beautiful Clouds Disappear Forever?
Could Earth be heading towards a cloudless future? According to scientists observing climate changes, this possibility isn't too far-fetched from the truth.
Climate change will affect all physiological processes on Earth and clouds are no exception. According to Michael Pritchard from the The University of California, Irvine either clouds could completely disappear from Earth or become thicker.
Clouds or no clouds, we're doomed
What will happens depends a lot on how climates of the future pan out. While we all know the potential disastrous effects of climate change like rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and health problems, it's all really a game of gases for clouds.
"If you ask two different climate models what the future will be like when we add a lot more CO2, you get two very different answers. And the key reason for this is the way clouds are included in climate models," Pritchard was quoted by Phys.org.
Also read:?Climate Change Heating 'Invisible Ecosystems' And Transporting Pathogens To New Areas
In a new study, Pritchard and team employed a climate simulation method called "Multiscale Modelling Framework." With help from Texas Advanced Computing Center's Frontera supercomputer, Pritchard ran his climate models to assess how clouds would be affected.
"We developed a way for a supercomputer to best split up the work of simulating the cloud physics over different parts of the world that deserve different amounts of resolution¡ so that it runs much faster," the team wrote.
Also read:?Climate Change Will Shave Around 60 Hours Of Sleep Each Year By 2099, Study Finds
While Pritchard and team still don't know what will become of clouds, the mystery may be solved by supercomputers and machine learning models in the near-future.?
In case clouds were to disappear from the face of Earth, dark surfaces will be exposed, and climate change's effects will be become more pronounced on land. In case clouds thicken up, the effects would be "less hazardous."
What do you think - would Earth feel the same way without beautiful bursts of clouds in the sky? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.?
References
Dubrow, A. (2022, May 31). A cloudless future? The mystery at the heart of climate forecasts. Phys.Org.?
