Japanese researchers have uncovered a startling revelation: microplastics reside within clouds, casting a shadow of uncertainty on their impact on climate and the environment. Their findings, published in Environmental Chemistry Letters, expose a new facet of microplastic pollution that warrants immediate attention.
To investigate this phenomenon, Japanese scientists embarked on an extraordinary expedition, scaling Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama to collect water samples from the mist cloaking these peaks. Employing advanced imaging techniques, they meticulously analyzed these samples to unveil the physical and chemical properties of the concealed microplastics.
The results are both astonishing and deeply disconcerting. The researchers identified nine distinct polymer types and one rubber type among the airborne microplastics, ranging in size from 7.1 to 94.6 micrometers. Remarkably, every liter (0.26 gallons) of cloud water subjected to testing contained between 6.7 to 13.9 of these minuscule plastic particles.
Lead author Hiroshi Okochi from Waseda University delivered a stark warning regarding the implications of this discovery. He emphasized that failing to proactively address “plastic air pollution” could lead to unforeseen consequences, including climate change and ecological risks, resulting in irrevocable and severe environmental damage.
The gravity of these findings is underscored by the fact that when microplastics ascend to the upper atmosphere and encounter ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, they initiate a degradation process. This degradation contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, adding an unexpected dimension to the intricate climate change puzzle.
Microplastics, defined as plastic particles under 5 millimeters in size, have previously been detected in various environments, including within fish, Arctic sea ice, and even the snows of the Pyrenees mountains straddling France and Spain. Nevertheless, the mechanisms governing their dispersion to such diverse locations remained enigmatic, with limited research on airborne microplastic transport.
The authors highlighted the novelty of their discovery in their published paper, stating, “To our knowledge, this is the first report on airborne microplastics in cloud water.”
Waseda University, in an official statement, underscored the broader implications of microplastics on human and animal health. These particles have been found in multiple organs, including the lungs, heart, blood, placenta, and feces of both humans and animals. The university emphasized that approximately ten million tons of microplastics are released into the ocean, eventually becoming part of ocean spray and infiltrating the atmosphere. This revelation implies that microplastics may have become an integral component of clouds, potentially contaminating the food and water we consume, in what researchers have aptly labeled “plastic rainfall.”
Emerging evidence has linked microplastics to a spectrum of health effects, encompassing heart and lung ailments, cancers, and extensive environmental harm. These findings underscore the pressing need for further research and proactive measures to confront the intricate and far-reaching consequences of microplastic pollution on our planet.