Key Takeaways
- Study published: Released on July 8, 2026 in Science Advances, authored by Jessica Wan (University of Chicago) and Kate Ricke (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), the paper examines the possibility of weakening super El Niño events through solar geoengineering.
- Technology involved: Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB), a technique that injects sea-salt aerosols into clouds over the southeastern Pacific.
- Key finding: Simulations flag the risk of prematurely triggering a strong La Niña, disrupting global weather patterns.
A natural experiment as a starting point
The Australian wildfires of 2019-2020, known as the Black Summer, released massive amounts of smoke into the southeastern Pacific. The phenomenon made clouds more reflective, producing a cooling effect that helped trigger a multi-year La Niña. Researchers used this event as the foundation for testing direct human intervention.
Simulating historic super El Niño events
The team applied MCB logic to the super El Niño events of 1997-1998 and 2015-2016. By injecting aerosols during May-June, the models show a disruption of the phenomenon's amplification mechanisms, resulting in a significant weakening of the climate event.
A divided scientific community
The study points to unintended consequences, including the early onset of an intense La Niña. Part of the scientific community disputes the ethical and technical risks of manipulating complex climate systems through targeted interventions that still lack real-world validation.
