You may look at the sky every morning and see it the same as always. Beautiful blue, nothing out of the ordinary, and even though Rosalía says the sky was born in Buenos Aires, something is changing. According to researchers, the Earth is getting darker, and they have confirmed it after 20 years of research.
A recent study published in PNAS shows that our planet reflects less and less sunlight, absorbs more energy and, as a direct consequence, heats up faster. In addition, the northern hemisphere is darkening faster than the southern one.
Is the Earth darker?
No, it is not that the planet is losing brightness like an old light bulb. Scientists are referring to albedo, the Earth’s ability to reflect sunlight back into space.
The more we reflect, the less heat we absorb, but that natural “mirror” is slowly fading, and today it reflects much less energy than it did two decades ago.
The satellites that have seen everything
We are not talking about simulations or hypotheses, but real data measured by the CERES system, sensors that observe how much energy enters and leaves the planet. Thanks to these observations, they have seen that the Earth absorbs more energy than it returns. In climate terms, this is bad news.
The north is darkening faster
One of the findings that worries researchers the most is the difference between hemispheres. Both are darkening, yes, but the north is doing so more quickly. This means more warming in regions where most of the world’s population lives. And when that balance breaks, wind patterns, rainfall and ocean currents begin to behave in a much less predictable way.
Growing inequalities
This imbalance does not stay on charts, it is real and it can amplify heat waves, long droughts and more violent storms… Please… And of course, areas with fewer resources will suffer the most, as always happens.
What about clouds?
For years, people thought that clouds could act as a natural brake on these changes and that everything would return to its natural balance… Not this time,.
The reality is that this is not the case, the study shows that changes in the amount, type and distribution of clouds no longer compensate for the excess energy we are absorbing. So clouds, which we hoped would save us, are losing effectiveness.
All because of humans
Yes, we are all guilty, we are the real plague. Less ice, less snow, more dark ocean, more cities, more pollution. All of that reduces albedo, so more heat gets trapped, and the more it accumulates, the harder it is to stop.
And this is not just “another climate indicator”, but a real warning. We are entering a very dangerous dynamic that could make it impossible to go back even if emissions are reduced!!!
Did we not see it coming?
At first glance, no. The sky is still there, with its beautiful blue, the sun rises the same every day, but CERES says otherwise. And the worst part is that the most dangerous changes are not always the most obvious ones.
It is neither a prediction nor an ideological debate, it is what is happening and what we are overlooking.
And if the Earth keeps darkening?
Warming will bring consequences for everyone. There will be many more natural disasters, and more intense ones. Inequalities between north and south will become even more visible. And little by little we will be left with fewer plants and less oxygen. It will not go dark all at once, but if it is already darkening, it will continue to do so if we do not stop this trend.