What is Global dimming?
{{unref|date=June 2012}} '''Global dimming''' is the slow decrease in the irradiance at the [[Earth]]'s surface. Irradiance is the power of [[electromagnetic radiation]] per [[Unit of measurement|unit]] [[area]]. One of the possible causes of global dimming is [[pollution]]. It affects the [[water cycle]] by decreasing [[evaporation]] and by decreasing the rain in some areas. Global dimming also causes the earth to cool down. This cooling effect may cover the effect of [[greenhouse gas]]es caused by [[global warming]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-11-12|title=Climate change: Dimming Earth, mustard shortages and other odd side-effects|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63585043.amp|access-date=2024-12-11|website=BBC News|language=en-gb}}</ref> ==Causes and effects== [[Air pollution|Air pollutants]] absorb [[solar energy]] and [[Reflection|reflect]] [[sunlight]] back into space. The pollutants can also become the core for cloud droplets. Water droplets in [[cloud]]s fuse around the pollutants. More pollutants create clouds with more number of smaller droplets. The smaller droplets make clouds to reflect more light. This causes more sunlight to be reflected back into space and less light reaches the Earth's surface. Clouds stop the [[heat]] from both going in and out from the earth. This process is complex and it changes according to the time, location and the height above the [[sea level]]. During the day, more sunlight stops from going in. This cools down the Earth. During the night, the heat in earth stops from going out. This slows down the heat from going out the earth. [[Volcanic ash]] can also stops the sunlight from going in and out from the earth. Decreases in the earth's temperatures are observed after large [[volcanic eruption]]s. Some examples are the eruptions of [[Mount Agung]] in Bali that erupted in 1963, [[El Chichon]] (Mexico, 1983), [[Ruiz]] (Colombia, 1985), and [[Mount Pinatubo]] ([[Philippines]], 1991). Even for large eruptions, the ash clouds do not stay for a long time. ==Relati