10 - Aerosoloù
✏️ This explanation does not yet exist in your language. Please fill this Google Form if you want to help us!
We advise you to skip this card in general unless participants have a good level, have time and you fell comfortable explaining it.
Aerosols are solid or liquid particules so little that their falling speed is close to zero. They prevent the sun's radiati
1Cause
2Consequences
Aerosols cool down the climate.
Although aerosols are not alone in the "fine particle" category, every year 391,000 people in EU countries die from air pollution, and it causes 1.1 million premature deaths in India and China. Air pollution such as soot caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil was responsible for 8.7m deaths globally in 2018.
4Other possible causes
Smoke from wildfires has been shown to carry toxic particles.
Buildings emit few aerosols directly. The only significant emissions are chimney fires. In Chamonix, 85% of the fine particles present in the atmosphere come from wood heating.
Local pollution due to exhausts pipes is one of the main motivations to promote electric cars, far more than climate change. But EV are responsible for CO2 emissions due to power generation. These emissions depend a lot on the country where the car is rolling. See the file about it.
Spraying crops does result in aerosols and air pollution, but not to the same extent as incomplete combustion from power plants.