Researchers in Japan have confirmed that they have found microplastics in clouds and that their presence could alter the climate in ways that are not yet fully understood.
For a study published in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters, scientists traveled to Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama to collect water from the clouds surrounding their peaks.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time that suspended microplastics have been detected in cloud water,” the scientists write in their study.
Researchers used advanced imaging techniques to identify nine different types of polymers and one of rubber in airborne microplastics – ranging from 7.1 to 94.6 micrometers.
Hydrophilic polymers, i.e. water-loving or -attracting polymers, were found in abundance, suggesting a possible role in cloud formation and thus climate.
“If the problem of ‘plastic air pollution’ is not addressed proactively, climate change and ecological risks could become a reality, causing severe and irreversible environmental damage in the future,” the study’s lead author Hiroshi Okochi said in a statement on Wednesday.
When microplastics reach the upper part of the atmosphere and are exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet light, they decompose, releasing greenhouse gases and contributing to climate change, Hiroshi Okochi explained.
Microplastics – defined as particles less than 5 mm in size – come from industrial waste, textiles, car tires or personal care products.
These tiny fragments have been found in the ice of the Arctic pack ice, in the snow of the Pyrenees and in living organisms in all parts of the world.
However, the way they are transported is still relatively unknown, and their transport by air is poorly understood.
Data is also still incomplete regarding the health effects of exposure to microplastics, but studies are increasingly pointing to a link to certain diseases in addition to their impact on the environment.