Airborne Microplastics and Nanoplastics Contribute to Global Warming

New research published in Nature Climate Change suggests that colored microplastics and nanoplastics in the atmosphere absorb sunlight and contribute to global warming. The study finds that these particles create a warming effect equivalent to about 16.2% of the impact caused by black carbon, or soot. While the global effect is relatively small, the warming impact is significantly higher over oceanic garbage patches, such as the North Pacific Garbage Patch. This suggests that plastic pollution in the oceans has a direct link to atmospheric heating through the release of airborne particles.