{"id":145998,"date":"2024-12-07T19:11:20","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T13:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=145998"},"modified":"2024-12-07T19:11:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T13:41:20","slug":"low-altitude-clouds","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/low-altitude-clouds","title":{"rendered":"Low-Altitude Cloud Cover Decline Linked to Rise in Temperature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent study has <\/span><b>highlighted that declining low-altitude cloud cover has contributed about 0.2\u00b0C<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the<\/span><b> nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius rise <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seen in global mean temperatures in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Key Highlights of the Study<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Published In: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study was published in the <\/span><b>journal Science.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Data Analysis: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Satellite data from <\/span><b>radiation readings from NASA&#8217;s Clouds and the Earth&#8217;s Radiant Energy System and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were used.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A complex <\/span><b>weather model was generated <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to get a detailed understanding of the evolution of the <\/span><b>global energy budget and cloud cove<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">r at different altitudes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Objective: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To find the<\/span><b> source of the missing 0.2 degrees Celsius of warming <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the year 2023.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Findings:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Decline in Low- Altitude cloud cover:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It fell <\/span><b>globally by 1.5 per cent in 202<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3 compared to average levels continuing a<\/span><b> decade-long decline of 1.27 per cent.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>sharpest decline in Low- Altitude cloud cover was seen over northern mid-latitude and tropical oceans like the Atlantic<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> likely accounting for the 0.2C of warming.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A slight decline in <\/span><b>moderate- and high-altitude clouds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (which typically trap heat emitted from the surface in the atmosphere) was also observed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Reason for the Decline: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The decline is attributed to many causes, that is<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Global Reduction in Aerosol Pollution:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lower concentrations of anthropogenic aerosols in the atmosphere, especially due to stricter regulations on marine fuel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Natural regional variability, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which are variations in the climate system outside of human influence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Climate change induced ocean feedbacks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> leading to global warming could have also reduced the number of low clouds<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Consequence of the Decline:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reduction of cloud cover led to a <\/span><b>drop in planetary albedo\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"4\"><b>2023 appeared to have the lowest level of albedo since 1940 w<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ith approximately<\/span><b> 15 per cent of the albedo decline linked to the loss of Arctic snow and sea ice, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which are vital for reflecting sunlight.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>Climate Feedback Loop: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The loss of reflective clouds will <\/span><b>lead to a positive climate feedback loop <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whereby it would lead an increased pace of global warming\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>Warming Effect:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Low Altitude clouds <\/span><b>reflect more incoming solar radiation then they absorb, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">thus having a cooling effect on the planet. Its loss will result in more warming.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>Reduced Rainfall:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Tropospheric Clouds hold water that leads to rainfall. The loss of these clouds will also affect the precipitation pattern globally.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Low Altitude Clouds<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-145973 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/79-67543f9e49922.webp\" alt=\"Low-Altitude Cloud\" width=\"549\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/79-67543f9e49922.webp 1147w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/79-67543f9e49922-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/79-67543f9e49922-1024x513.webp 1024w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/79-67543f9e49922-768x385.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are <\/span><b>clouds that form below 6,500 feet (2,000 meters)\u00a0 and are made up of liquid water droplets<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or supercooled droplets.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Reflective:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They are <\/span><b>highly reflective of the sun&#8217;s radiation, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which cools the Earth&#8217;s surface.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Characteristics:<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Composition:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Low clouds are<\/span><b> made up of more water than high clouds.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> During cold winter storms, low clouds can contain ice crystals and snow.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Cloud Albedo Forcing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Low Altitude clouds c<\/span><b>loud albedo forcing is large<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and are <\/span><b>much thicker than high cirrus clouds <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and therefore not as transparent which leads to reflection of\u00a0 much of the solar energy back to space<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Effect on climate:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Low clouds <\/span><b>cool the Earth&#8217;s surface more than they warm it. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, climate change can affect clouds, and scientists predict that as the Earth warms, there will be fewer clouds to cool it down.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6975%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #000000;\"><b>Albedo<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>amount of energy reflected by a surface is called albedo.\u00a0<\/b><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Dark colors have an albedo close to zero<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (meaning little or no energy is reflected) whereas <\/span><b>Pale colors have an albedo close to 100%,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (meaning nearly all the energy is reflected)<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Planetary Albedo: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The amount <\/span><b>reflected back out to space is called the planetary albedo.<\/b><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s <\/span><b>calculated by averaging the albedo of all Earth surfaces <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(including the land, ocean, and ice).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Earth&#8217;s planetary albedo is about 31%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> meaning that about a third of the solar energy that gets to Earth is reflected out to space.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Ice-Albedo Feedback:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> If <\/span><b>there is more snow and ice on the planet, albedo increases, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more sunlight is reflected out to space, and the climate gets even cooler.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When<\/span><b> warming causes snow and ice to melt, darker colored surfaces are exposed, albedo decreases, less solar energy is reflected<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> out to space, and the planet warms even more.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; 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