Click on image for full size
Copyright UCAR

Air Pollution and Climate Change

There are many different types of air pollution. Some types of air pollution make the Earth get warmer. Other types of air pollution make the Earth get cooler. Read on to learn more about how different types of air pollution change Earth’s temperature.

Air pollutants that make Earth warmer

Air pollution includes greenhouse gases. One of these is carbon dioxide, a common part of the exhaust from cars and trucks. Greenhouse gases cause the Earth to warm by trapping heat from the Sun in the atmosphere. Some greenhouse gases are a natural part of the air. Some were added to the air by people’s cars and trucks that release greenhouse gases as fuel is burned. Some were added to the air from smokestacks at factories and power plants. More greenhouses gases in the air means more global warming. In fact, since cars were invented and factories and power plants were built more than a century ago, the Earth’s temperature has increased. Scientists say that the Earth will get even warmer during the next 100 years.

Air pollutants that slow down global warming

Cars, trucks, and smokestacks also let tiny particles loose into the atmosphere. These tiny particles are called aerosols and can be made of different things. Some of these particles get into the atmosphere naturally. They are released from the ocean, deserts, forests, volcanoes, and are a part of the smoke from wildfires. But air pollution released by cars and smokestacks also adds them to the atmosphere. Aerosols have an impact on climate. While different types of aerosols act differently in the atmosphere, the overall effect of aerosols is cooling.

Last modified June 17, 2008 by Lisa Gardiner.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Air Pollution

Have you ever heard of air pollution? Air pollution is not new. 700 years ago, when people started burning large amounts of coal 700 years ago in London, England, they complained about the dust and soot...more

Earth's Greenhouse Gases

Only a tiny amount of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere are greenhouse gases. But they have a huge effect on climate. There are several different types of greenhouse gases, but they all have something in...more

Carbon Dioxide - CO2

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a kind of gas. There isn't that much carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, but it is still very important. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. That means it helps trap heat coming...more

Global Warming: Scientists Say Earth Is Heating Up

Earth’s climate is getting warmer. During the past 100 years Earth’s average temperature rose about 0.6° Celsius (1.0° F). Things that people are doing like burning fossil fuels, changing the way land...more

Aerosols: Tiny Particulates in the Air

When you look up at the sky, you are looking at more than just air. There are also billions of tiny bits of solid and liquid floating in the air. These tiny particles are called aerosols or particulates....more

Releasing Nitrogen Pollutants to the Air

While most of the air in our atmosphere is made of nitrogen gas, there are other gases in our atmosphere that contain nitrogen too. They may make up only a small percentage of the air molecules in our...more

Air Pollution and Atmospheric Visibility

Would you be surprised if smoke from a fire stopped you from seeing nearby buildings or mountains? Probably not. What if there was no fire, and a brown or gray haze filled the sky. Would you be surprised...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA