Research Projects

Aerosols from anthropogenic activities have a cooling effect on climate due to their interaction with incoming solar radiation and cloud properties, known as the Aerosol-Radiation interaction (ARI) and Aerosol-Cloud interaction (ACI). These emissions offset some of the historical warming induced by increasing greenhouse gases. However, the cooling induced by anthropogenic aerosols remains poorly constrained, impacting estimates of climate sensitivity and projections of future climate change. This study aims to investigate spatial heterogeneity in aerosol radiative forcing (RF) and climate response, focusing on the effect of ACI. ARI has been treated and modelled in Global Climate Models (GCMs) until phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), while inclusion of ACI in model physics has been only included in CMIP6 GCMs. Recent studies indicate that ACI is a crucial factor in constraining aerosol RF, as it causes aerosols to have a higher efficacy than greenhouse gases in causing climate change due to remote forcing far from emission locations, particularly in higher latitudes. Preliminary analysis shows that aerosols emitted mainly from Europe have higher ACI-driven climate change compared to aerosols emitted from South-East Asia. However, since past decades, aerosols emitted from Europe and North America have decreased considerably, while they are increasing in South-East Asia. This proposed study aims to perform a comprehensive analysis to weigh the contrasting effects from enhanced remote effects due to ACI but reduced levels in the west while lower remote forcing and increased aerosol levels in the east.