Geo-engineering and climate control

The idea of engineering the atmosphere to stave off global warming is increasingly gaining popularity, but it raises several issues

Nitin Desai
Last Updated at November 30, 2022 00:49 IST

A recent sci-fi novel, Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, describes what will happen in the future as countries fail to agree and implement a carbon mitigation programme that limits the global temperature increase to a manageable level. The novel begins with a massive heat wave in Uttar Pradesh that kills millions. The Government of India then responds by unilaterally launching a move to spray sulphur dioxide on clouds in the Indian Ocean, which would reduce solar radiation and bring the temperature down. The move works and for two-three years the temperature comes down. The novel goes on to elaborate more such measures to cope with the consequences of catastrophic climate change.

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