[ad_1]
It SOUNDS like a plot from a science fiction movie, but scientists have suggested permanently obscuring the sun to save South Africa from deadly droughts.
The insane scheme would involve pumping large amounts of gas into the atmosphere above Cape Town to preserve the local water supply.
3
It evokes the plot of the 2007 sci-fi film Sunshine, in which scientists embark on a daring mission to rekindle the dying sun with a nuclear bomb in 2057.
Presented by experts from the University of Cape Town, the plan is hoped to drastically reduce the chances of a water crisis engulfing the city.
Fears of a “Day Zero” drought – the point where there isn’t enough water for everyone – affecting the region have been buzzing for years.
With the climate crisis tightening its grip on our planet, the chances of a similar drought hit Cape Town will triple by 2100, according to research.
3
In a study published last week in the journal Environmental Research Letters, scientists have outlined an insane way to avoid such a catastrophe.
The plan is controversial, South African newspaper The Mail and Guardian report, both for its climatic impacts and geopolitical implications.
In their paper, the researchers suggest injecting sulfur dioxide particles into Earth’s upper atmosphere above Cape Town.
The gas would form a huge cloud over the city that reflects sunlight, obscuring the environment on the ground below.
3
According to the researchers, the sci-fi tactic could reduce the chances of a Day Zero drought hitting Cape Town by 2100 by up to 90%.
The goal would be to prevent Cape Town’s climate from worsening as the century progresses, while maintaining the current odds of a major drought.
“Our findings suggest that maintaining global mean temperature at 2020 levels via SAI would offset the projected end-century risk of Day Zero drought by about 90%, while keeping the risk of such droughts similar to the current level,” the team writes in their paper.
The researchers stressed that the findings should not be seen as an alternative to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Explanation of climate change
Here are the basic facts …
- Scientists have a lot of evidence to show that Earth’s climate is changing rapidly due to human activity
- Climate change will result in problems such as global warming, an increased risk of floods, droughts and regular heatwaves
- Each of the past three decades has been warmer than the last, and 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred during the 21stcentury
- The Earth only needs to rise a few degrees in order to spell disaster
- The oceans are already warming, polar ice and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and we are seeing more extreme weather events
- In 2015, nearly every nation in the world signed an agreement called the Paris Agreement that defines ways they can tackle climate change and try to keep temperatures below 2 ° C.
Cape Town came closest to Day Zero in 2017, when a 384-year drought brought the city’s dam capacity below 13%.
It was said that the city was weeks away from turning off the citizens’ taps and sending the army to distribute water as a daily ration.
Gaining approval for the insane new plot is sure to be a challenge for scientists, according to the Mail and Guardian.
Experts have already criticized the idea of injecting gas into the atmosphere to curb the effects of global warming, calling it “potentially dangerous interference with the climate system.”
In a December 2018 paper, science advocacy group Climate Analytics said that implementing such a system “would likely become a source of huge conflict between nations.”
LOOK AT THIS SPACE
How to watch the International Space Station TONIGHT
EYES TO THE SKY
What planets can you see from Earth with the naked eye?
‘HOLY GRAIL’
According to scientists, the human aging process is REVERSE in the first world study
NASA NOTICE
Asteroid the size of the tallest building in the world zipping past the Earth this week
LIFE ON MARS
Elon Musk reveals that residents in his 2050 city of Mars will be living in glass domes
In other news, a tectonic plate under the Indian Ocean is slowly breaking in two, according to research.
Climate change could make one-fifth of the planet as hot as the Sahara desert by 2070, according to a new study.
And NASA scientists thought they had found evidence of a bizarre parallel universe, but now other experts are raising doubts.
Are you worried about climate change? Let us know in the comments …
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
[ad_2]
Source link
