418.49 ppm: Track weekly climate news
Everest glaciers, thawed permafrost
The latest climate news report. The title refers to the global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere (parts per million). This means that for every million air particles that there are currently.
Thawing permafrost may expose Arctic populations to carcinogenic radon
Permafrost thawed by climate change could expose Arctic populations to higher concentrations of radon, the radioactive gas that causes lung cancer. Permafrost was found to be a protective barrier that significantly reduced radon entering the ground and the tenth digit of groundwater entering buildings.
By simulating radon production, its flow in the soil, and permafrost thawing, the researchers showed that in buildings with basements, the presence of radon gas can increase to more than 100 times its initial value, up to seven years, depending on the depth of the permafrost and how quickly it thaws.
Traditional buildings built on piles in the Arctic region have not found such an increase. The study was published in The Future of The Planet.
Paul Glover, a professor and author at the University of Leeds' School of Earth and Environment in the United Kingdom, said: "If the permafrost is stable, there is no reason to worry. ”
"However, it is now widely recognized that climate change is causing severe thawing of permafrost, and it is expected that 42 permafrost in the Arctic Ring Polar Permafrost Zone (ACPR) will be lost by 2050," he said. ”
"As there is no obvious historical radon problem in these areas, and natural gas itself cannot be detected without specialized equipment, we believe that this is an important and completely avoidable threat to the health of the northern region."
"Fortunately, if the problem is acknowledged, it usually only needs to be simply installed with ventilation."
Anthropogenic climate change affects Mount Everest
Mount Everest's tallest glacier is rapidly retreating due to human-induced climate change, and it has been found that decades of glacier accumulation are being lost each year due to melting and sublimation (from solid to steam).
An international team of researchers analyzed data from the world's tallest ice core ever and two of the tallest weather stations ever made. They found that glacier dilution of about 55 meters is estimated to occur within a quarter of a century — more than 80 times faster than the glacier that formed in nearly 2,000 years.
The study, published in NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, shows that the glacier has gone from snow to ice (losing its ability to reflect solar radiation) and estimates that it will continue to thin at a rate of about two meters per year.
The latest study confirms that anthropogenic climate change even covers alpine glaciers and warns of emerging effects, from an avalanche rates to a decline in the ability of high-altitude ice blocks in the Himalayas to store water (more than 1 billion people rely on meltwater for drinking water and irrigation).
Changing your inhaler can help reduce the carbon footprint of asthma
Classic 'blowfish' inhaler use (HFCs), HFCs are potent greenhouse gases that emit 3-4% of the UK's total healthcare carbon footprint. Switching from a pressurized metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) to a dry powder version — in which the drug is held as dry powder and delivered to the lungs through rapid and deep breathing — increased its asthma-related carbon footprint by more than half.
The scientists conducted a secondary analysis of data from one case in which 4,000 asthma sufferers were either assigned to continue using metered-dose inhalers or switch to dry powder inhalers. They also found that during the 12 months of the study, patients who switched to dry powder inhalers consistently managed asthma better than those who continued their normal asthma care.
The researchers concluded that their results support a growing call from official agencies that, where possible, a shift from pMDI to low-carbon impact alternatives should be sought.
The study was published in BMJ.
Detected from space the large amount of methane emissions produced by the oil and gas industry
Methane (CH4) is a major contributor to climate change, with global warming potential about 30 times that of carbon dioxide in 100 years. One-third of anthropogenic methane emissions come from the extraction of coal, oil and natural gas (methane is the main component of this).
Actual emissions from oil and gas extraction and distribution activities were previously underestimated due to large, sporadic emissions from industry operators that were not declared. Now, hundreds of major methane emissions related to global oil and gas extraction activities have been discovered.
The researchers, published in the journal Science, analyzed thousands of images generated daily by the European Space Agency Sentinel-5P satellite from 2019-2020 and mapped 1,800 methane plumes — 1,200 of which were attributed to fossil fuel extraction. These large-scale emissions are always present in the world's largest oil and gas basins.
By considering the potential social costs associated with climate change and air quality, as well as the monetary cost of wasting natural gas, research shows that limiting these emissions would result in billions of dollars in net savings for the six major oil and gas producing countries.
We underestimated the impact of peatland fires on greenhouse gas emissions
Deforestation fires are hampering climate change mitigation efforts and exacerbating global environmental challenges. According to the report, in 2019 and 2020, deforestation fires in Brazil and Indonesia accounted for 3% and 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, respectively.
Many of these fires burn in carbon-rich — a wetland spread across 180 countries that stores twice as much carbon as any other vegetation type.
Published in Frontiers, the researchers used publicly available deforestation data from Brazil and Indonesia to estimate the overall impact of peatland fires on greenhouse gases in 2019 and 2020 and compared them to previous GHG estimates to show that previous data underestimated the true impact of deforestation fires in severe fire years.
Dr Ramanan Krishnamoorti, author from the University of Houston, said: "The monitoring and measurement challenges of peatlands have led to underestimating the true impact of deforestation fires. ”
"As these estimates form the basis of government policy responses, there is insufficient attention to forest and peatland conservation as part of efforts to mitigate the climate crisis."