New Study: Microplastics Affecting Weather
Microplastics affect cloud-formation and could be altering weather patterns. Scientists showed that microplastics can have the same effects on cloud-formation as dust particles, which help water droplets form ice crystals in the atmosphere at warmer temperatures. If there are more microplastics present in clouds, and therefore more ice, more sunlight could be reflected, altering the earth’s energy balance. The presence of microplastics could also increase rain and snowfall.
More than nine billion tons of plastic are estimated to have been produced between 1950 and 2017, with over half of that total having been produced since 2004. The vast majority of plastic ends up in the environment in one form or another, where it breaks down, through weathering, exposure to UV light and organisms of all kinds, into smaller and smaller pieces—microplastics and then nanoplastics.
more…
https://needtoknow.news/2024/11/new-study-microplastics-affecting-weather/