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The burning of coal, oil and gas is warming our planet, as is well known, but a report by The Washington Post has now explained that despite everything, the burning of coal, oil and gas also cools the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and promote the formation of clouds that shade us from the sun.

But that cooling effect is now fading as a new climate-conscious world works to eliminate pollution.

New regulations to minimize air pollution have reduced the amount of sulfur aerosols, resulting in even higher temperatures.

Accordingly The Washington PostClimate scientist Zeke Hausfather says: “We are entering a period of great, great uncertainty. It could be that a whole degree of cooling is being masked.”

The sulfur aerosols caused by air pollution contribute to cooling the planet in two ways:

– Because the particles reflect, they are deflected by the sun’s rays and cast shadows on the earth.

– The particles cool the Earth by making existing clouds much brighter and giving them a mirror-like appearance.

When fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which contain one to two percent sulfur, are burned, the sulfur particles are sprayed into the atmosphere. This is particularly dangerous because sulfur dioxide causes severe respiratory problems, chronic diseases and deaths from air pollution.

Countries have been working for decades to remove these pollutants from the air. According to The Washington PostDuncan Watson-Parris, assistant professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, said: “There has been a pretty sharp decline over the last decade.”

Recent studies have shown that as these aerosols decrease, more solar radiation is trapped in our atmosphere.

As a result, an experimental technique called marine cloud brightening could be used, which involves injecting harmless aerosols into the air that could cause clouds to reflect more sunlight and increase cloud cover in the atmosphere.

India experiences erratic climatic conditions, with parts of the country experiencing either unprecedented rainfall or droughts.

According to experts, India needs to create more lakes and ponds to store heavy rainfall and prevent massive water shortages in populous cities like Delhi and Bengaluru.

The country must also significantly increase green spaces, raise public awareness of the effects of heat, stagger working hours and change class times, say the experts.