A group of scientists from the Ocean University of China, together with colleagues from the United States and Germany, found that reductions in industrial emissions in China intensified heat waves in the North Pacific Ocean. The research was published in the scientific journal magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Over the past decade, the North Pacific Ocean has experienced several heat waves that led to fish kills, toxic algal blooms, and the disappearance of whales.
Such heat waves are often associated with global warming, but no study to date has been able to pinpoint how global warming could cause such a sudden and variable increase in temperature in a particular part of the planet.
The onset of the heat wave followed successful efforts by the Chinese government to reduce aerosol emissions from factories in the country, the research team said.
Since 2010, factories and power plants in China have begun to significantly reduce aerosol emissions such as sulfates, resulting in cleaner air.
Aerosol particles can act as floating mirrors that reflect the sun’s heat back into space.
Modeling showed that the lack of aerosols actually increased the warming of Asia’s coastal regions, leading to the development of high-pressure systems. This made the low pressure systems in the central Pacific Ocean more intense.
The cooling of the sea surface decreased due to the weakening of westerly winds as a result of the displacement of atmospheric masses.
Previous scientists I learnedOver the last 45 years, heat waves have become stronger, longer lasting and more dangerous.