Short-lived climate pollutants
Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) typically stay in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than carbon dioxide. However, their warming effect on the atmosphere can be much greater. The main SLCPs behind current global warming are methane, tropospheric ozone, hydrofluorocarbons and black carbon. SLCPs play a major role in Arctic climate change. They cause direct warming from local emissions and from SLCPs that were transported to the Arctic by air. They also produce an overall increase in global temperatures, which indirectly contributes to warming in the Arctic.
Source:
AMAP Assessment 2015: Methane as an Arctic climate forcer, 2015; Summary for Policy-makers: Arctic Climate Issues 2015, Short-lived Climate Pollutants, AMAP; AMAP Assessment 2015: Black carbon and ozone as Arctic climate forcers; International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), Prevalence of heavy fuel oil and black carbon in Arctic shipping, 2015 to 2025, 2017; National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL); S. Shankman, These Climate Pollutants Don't Last Long, But They’re Wreaking Havoc on the Arctic, Inside Climate News, 2018; A. Stohl et al., Black carbon in the Arctic: the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2013.
Year: 2019
From collection: Global linkages – a graphic look at the changing Arctic (rev.1)
Cartographer: Philippe Rekacewicz and Nieves Lopez Izquierdo