Things have been getting darker on planet Earth for the past two decades. Yes, that can generally be applied to the state of humanity. But it is more literally applicable to the light emitted by the Earth itself.
According to 24 years of satellite data from NASA’s CERES instruments, our planet is reflecting significantly less sunlight into space. In other words, the Earth is literally getting darker.
Researchers say that this is caused by a dangerous imbalance in the Earth’s “radiation budget.” That’s a term referring to the delicate balance between solar energy entering the planet and heat radiating out of it.
Both of our planet’s hemispheres should receive roughly equal sunlight and send back approximately the same amount. However, the Northern Hemisphere has been accumulating a significant amount of heat lately.
NASA Scientists Warn the Planet’s Dimming Could Have Major Effects by 2026
So the question is, why is this system suddenly broken? Climate change, of course!
That is just another way of saying us; we did this. It’s just another in a long line of issues that can be directly attributed to our continued negligence and irresponsibility in addressing climate change.
Just yesterday, I wrote about how Everest climbers are stranded because typically temperate October temperatures have been so thoroughly screwed by climate change that unseasonable blizzards blindsided climbers.
A couple of months ago, I wrote about an entire country that is already being evacuated before rising sea levels caused by climate change submerge the island nation. The list goes on. It shouldn’t, and in a perfect world it wouldn’t, but that’s what we get for prioritizing capital over people.
Melting Arctic ice, disappearing snow cover, and even the fact that the air on the planet is generally cleaner than ever before are all contributing to the dimming of the planet’s glow. The northern hemisphere, in particular, used to be so snowy that all that white was bouncing tons of light back into space.
But now that ice and snow aren’t appearing as much. Again, thanks to climate change. So what was once white and reflective is now dark and light-absorbing—stuff like the blue ocean, and the gray/black rock and asphalt.
The cleaner air part of it is hilarious. As nations became industrialized, they filled our atmosphere with thick clouds that scattered sunlight. However, countries in North America, across Europe, and China have all made tremendous strides in reducing air pollution.
This has made the skies clearer and made it easier for all of us to breathe, albeit with the unintended consequence of producing fewer reflective particles. All that sunlight is going straight to the planet’s surface, unobscured by toxic clouds.
All of this means that our planet isn’t just growing darker to outside observers; darkness is a symptom of a planet that is getting hotter. So hot that it’s essentially causing a planet-wide brownout.
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