Instead of the expected effect of reducing overall warmth, recent reports indicate that the decrease of the solar radiation received by Earth actually raises the level of global warming.
All of us, especially people in regions with a temperate climate, have felt the changes in the weather in the past years. It is harsher. Winters are colder, with less snow and more chilling temperatures, while summers bring almost unbearable heat. Also, even if the number of storms remains within the usual limits, their intensity has long since gone up the roof. These are all related to the phenomenon called the greenhouse effect.
The greenhouse gases are part of the atmosphere, both those produced naturally and those developed by people. They absorb thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth, by the atmosphere and by clouds, trapping it in the region between the surface of the planet and the troposphere. This causes the greenhouse effect to install.
The logical approach would be (and has been) to reduce the climate-harmful emissions, but without fully comprehending the whole process, this could prove to be even worse. The main factor that complicates all this is the "global dimming," which refers to the decrease of solar light reaching the Earth lately. As the American Geographical Union states, in the 40-something years between the 1950s and the late '90s the overall incoming solar radiation decreased by a staggering 12% (9% in Antarctica, 10% in the U.S., almost 30% in Russia and as much as 60% in some regions in England). Even so, our planet becomes increasingly warm.
The explanation for this resides in pollution. More precisely – in particle pollution, such as ash, soot or sulfur dioxide which wanders in the atmosphere and even worse – gets to be absorbed in the clouds. Sunlight is reflected from these and from the clouds, as the particles make the clouds even more reflective than they naturally are, and prevented to reach the planet’s surface. As a result of cloud pollution, cloud water becomes unable to condense into large enough drops that would form rain. Instead, it remains in cloud form, continuing to reflect the light from the sun, which causes drought to appear.
It's this reverse effect, in association with the global warming (called together "global brightening") that is to blame for the higher temperatures. The safest approach in order to counter them would be not to address one of them separately from the other but both at the same time. Otherwise, the effects are believed to be even more devastating than if none of them was taken care of at all.
