Cleaning Air Has Led to Climate Warming in Europe

A European study of the impact of cleaner, and thus "clearer" air, due to the concerted effort to reduce air pollution has led to additional "warming in Europe"

The researchers found this clearing of the air in the past 30 years may have amplified the warming of Europe.

They report their findings in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The research was led by Robert Vautard at the Atomic Energy Commission, Gif sur Yvette, France.

Since the 1970s, European temperatures have risen by about half-a-degree Celsius per decade.

This warming rate is faster than the global mean change (roughly equal to 0.18C per decade) and the trend averaged over all the Earth's land (roughly equal to 0.27C per decade) during the same period.

The regional climate models used by scientists have failed to simulate the European experience, say Vautard and colleagues; and they point to legislation that has cleaned up Europe's air as the probable cause.

Begs the question if we really know enough about the atmosphere to base our actions primarily on the results of atmospheric modeling.