Thursday, 16 November 2023

Plastic Clouds

Microplastics seem to get everywhere. Japanese scientists recently found them in clouds at the summit of Mount Fuji. A Chinese group at Shandong University have now confirmed this finding, in clouds atop Mount Tai (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/16/microplastic-pollution-changing-weather-climate). The Shandong University group recorded microplastics in 24 out of their 28 samples. These tiny particles consisted of polyethylene terephthalate; polypropylene; polyethylene and polystyrene. They probably originated from synthetic fibres in clothing and textiles, packaging and face masks. There's serious concern that air-bourne microplastics could further change weather patterns as well as global temperatures.
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