Microplastics have now made their way to the clouds, according to a scathing study conducted by Japanese researchers. Researchers believe this could have serious consequences for the ocean environment and climate change.
The research team, led by Waseda University professor Hiroshi Okochi and others, evaluated 44 cloud water samples. The water contained at least 70 microplastic particles, according to the analysts.
The water was gathered from Mount Fuji’s peak and foot, as well as Mount Tanzawa-Oyama’s summit, west of Yokohama in Kanagawa prefecture.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on airborne microplastics in cloud water,” the authors wrote in their research paper.
Microplastics can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions when exposed to sunlight
If the presence of microplastics in clouds is not controlled via concerted efforts, they can cause severe damage to the climate and the human body.
“If the issue of ‘plastic air pollution’ is not addressed proactively, climate change and ecological risks may become a reality, causing irreversible and serious environmental damage in the future,” lead author Hiroshi Okochi of Waseda University warned in a statement Wednesday.
Microplastics, he continued, can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions when exposed to sunlight and ultraviolet radiations at the height of a cloud.
What exactly are microplastics?
Microplastics are plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm. They come from a variety of sources, including industrial waste, textiles, synthetic automobile tires, personal care products, and others.
These microscopic particles have been discovered inside fish in the deepest depths of the ocean, dispersed across Arctic sea ice, and covering the snow in the Pyrenees mountains that run between France and Spain.
However, the techniques by which they are transferred are still unknown, especially when it comes to the airborne transport of microplastics, as research in this area has been limited.
