Aerosols ‘risky’ way to tackle global warming

Mimicking the effect of volcanoes to curb global warming impacts is a “highly risky” strategy that could backfire disastrously, a study suggests.

Climate experts conducted computer simulations of what would happen if millions of droplet particles, or aerosols, were injected into the atmosphere to block the sun’s rays.

They found adopting the geoengineering approach in the northern hemisphere would reduce tropical cyclone activity responsible for devastating storms such as Hurricane Katrina.

But at the same time, it risked triggering widespread drought in the Sa- hel, the region of Africa just south of the Sahara desert.

Aerosols injected into the sky over the southern hemisphere would potentially boost North Atlantic tropical cyclone activity, increasing the likelihood of hurricanes.

The approach, based on the effects of volcanic eruptions which naturally fire aerosols into the atmosphere, has been promoted by some experts as a “quick fix” to reduce the rate of global warming.

Climate scientist Dr Anthony Jones, from the University of Exeter, who led the research, said: “Our results confirm that regional solar geoengineering is a highly risky strategy.”

Reducing global warming is the focus of research