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Study: Microplastics may be warming our planet
https://engineering.uiowa.edu/news-all/2026/05/study-microplastics-may-be-warming-our-planetThursday, May 7, 2026
Tiny particles of plastic found in the air may be warming our planet, according to a new study released this week.
Airborne micro- and nanoplastics may contribute to global warming at a level equivalent to 16.2% of that caused by black carbon, or soot, with higher values seen over oceanic garbage patches, according to findings published in Nature Climate Change.
"With the growing awareness of microplastic particles in the atmosphere there has been interest in thinking about whether they have any potential impact on climate change," said Gregory Carmichael, Karl Kammermeyer Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at the University of Iowa.
Carmichael, one of the paper's authors, conducted foundational work on black carbon and its role as an atmospheric warming agent.
…
Liu, Y., Fu, H., Zhang, H. et al. Atmospheric warming contributions from airborne microplastics and nanoplastics. Nat. Clim. Chang. 16, 598–605 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-026-02620-1
Tiny particles of plastic found in the air may be warming our planet, according to a new study released this week.
Airborne micro- and nanoplastics may contribute to global warming at a level equivalent to 16.2% of that caused by black carbon, or soot, with higher values seen over oceanic garbage patches, according to findings published in Nature Climate Change.
"With the growing awareness of microplastic particles in the atmosphere there has been interest in thinking about whether they have any potential impact on climate change," said Gregory Carmichael, Karl Kammermeyer Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at the University of Iowa.
Carmichael, one of the paper's authors, conducted foundational work on black carbon and its role as an atmospheric warming agent.
…
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/blackcarbon/