Aerosols may warm or cool the climate depending on timing, new study finds

Phys · Jun 08, 2026 · 535 words · By Hebrew University

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What to know about Aerosols may warm or cool the climate depending on timing, new study finds

A study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, published in Nature Communications, suggests that aerosols can have opposite warming and cooling effects on the climate depending on the time scale and rate of change. The research emphasizes the role of 'atmospheric memory' and argues that accounting for these timescales could improve the accuracy of climate projections.

Propaganda risk 0%

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Aerosols may warm or cool the climate depending on timing, new study finds Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Lead Editor A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem challenges a long-held assumption in climate science by showing that…

Why it matters

Guy Dagan of the Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, the research reveals that aerosol-cloud interactions can produce opposite climate effects in the short and long term.

Common ground

The findings, published in Nature Communications, offer a new explanation for why aerosols remain one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate projections.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Aerosols may warm or cool the climate depending on timing, new study finds?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that In some cases, the climate effect of aerosols depends not only on current aerosol levels but also on whether those levels have recently been increasing or decreasing?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-aerosols-cool-climate.html

analyticsAnalysis

Propaganda Score

confidence: 100%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

schedule Pending 1

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Claim 1: “In some cases, the climate effect of aerosols depends not only on current aerosol levels but also on whether those levels have recently been increasing or decreasing.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the effect depending on whether levels were increasing or decreasing.

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Claim 2: “During the first two days after aerosol levels increase, the atmosphere experiences a net warming effect.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm a net warming effect occurs during the first two days following an increase in aerosol levels.

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web search NEUTRAL — The greenhouse effect occurs when heat-trapping gases in a planet's atmosphere prevent the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect

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web search NEUTRAL — May 12, 2026 ... ... warming that develops during the first two days (Fig. 2c). We ... aerosols typically have an atmospheric lifetime ranging from days to ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-72896-6

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web search NEUTRAL — The greenhouse effect itself occurs when short-wave solar radiation (which is not impeded by the greenhouse gases) heats the surface of the Earth, and the ...
https://world-nuclear.org/climate-change-and-nuclear-energy/…

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Claim 3: “A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem challenges a long-held assumption in climate science by showing that aerosols—tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere—can either warm or cool the climate, depending on the time scale considered.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results explicitly state that a new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows aerosols can warm or cool the climate depending on the time scale.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The African Hebrew Israelites in Israel comprise a new religious movement that is now mainly based in Dimona. Officially self-identifying as the African Hebrew Israelite Nation of Jerusalem, they orig…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Hebrew_Israelites_in_I…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; Hebrew: הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם, romanized: HaUniversita HaIvrit b'Yerushalayim) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerus…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_University_of_Jerusalem

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The list of Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni includes notable graduates, professors, and administrators affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Four of Israel's prime ministers gradua…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hebrew_University_of_J…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 4: “The initial warming effect gradually gives way to an overall cooling effect.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific transition from initial warming to overall cooling is mentioned in the context of the study in one source, but other sources discuss general cooling effects of aerosols without explicitly linking the sequence to this specific study's timeline.

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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 9, 2023 ... The results suggest that the future aerosol reductions significantly contribute to climate warming and increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weathers ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10636203/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 4, 2025 ... With the efforts of climate change mitigation policies, inadvertent decreases in aerosols unmask their cooling effects and contribute to net ...
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025EF00…

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web search NEUTRAL — Short-term and long-term exposure to black carbon can result in ... warming effect on the atmosphere where the aerosols are located. Sometimes ...
https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/climate/data/deep-blue/aerosols

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Claim 5: “Led by Prof. Guy Dagan of the Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, the research reveals that aerosol-cloud interactions can produce opposite climate effects in the short and long term.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources confirm the research was led by Prof. Guy Dagan of the Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences and that it examines opposite short-term and long-term effects.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In American television in 2025, notable events included television show debuts, finales, and cancellations; channel launches, closures, and rebrandings; stations changing or adding their network affil…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_American_television

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Guy Deutscher (Hebrew: גי דויטשר; 19 March 1936 – 4 May 2024) was an Israeli experimental physicist who specialized in solid-state physics, low-temperature physics, and superconductivity. He was a Pro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Deutscher_(physicist)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Philistines (Hebrew: פְּלִשְׁתִּים, romanized: Pəlištīm; LXX Koine Greek: Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: Phulistieím; Latin: Philistaei) were an ancient people who lived along the southern coast of Canaan…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philistines

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 6: “The study found that the balance between these competing effects depends on two key factors: how quickly aerosol concentrations change and how quickly the atmosphere responds.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific factors (rate of change and speed of response) are mentioned in the context of the study in one source; other search results for 'balance' are generic definitions and not related to the study.

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web search NEUTRAL — A woman demonstrating the ability to balance A waiter balancing wine glasses Balance in biomechanics, is an ability to maintain the line of gravity (vertical line from centre of mass) of a body within…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_(ability)

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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of BALANCE is physical equilibrium. How to use balance in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balance

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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 5, 2025 · Balance is the ability to distribute your weight in a way that lets you stand or move without falling, or recover if you trip. Good balance requires the coordination of several parts of …
https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/balance

info

Claim 7: “The findings, published in Nature Communications, offer a new explanation for why aerosols remain one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate projections.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the study's existence is corroborated, only one provided web search result mentions the specific publication in Nature Communications; other results discuss the findings but not the journal name.

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web search NEUTRAL — The changes in the concentration, distribution, and composition of anthropogenic aerosols impact cloud properties and cloud radiative effects.
https://b.tellusjournals.se/articles/10.16993/tellusb.1886

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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 5, 2025 ... Given the fundamentally non-linear nature of aerosol-cloud interactions, even relatively minor additional reductions in cloud droplet number ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65127-x

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 8, 2026 ... Led by Prof. Guy Dagan of the Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, the research reveals that aerosol-cloud interactions can ...
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-aerosols-cool-climate.html

verified

Claim 8: “Aerosols come from a variety of natural and human-made sources, including air pollution, wildfires, sea spray and dust.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and NASA sources confirm that aerosols originate from both natural and human-made sources, including pollution, sea spray, and dust.

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web search NEUTRAL — Aerosols can be generated from natural or human causes. The scientific term aerosol refers to the mixture of particulates in gas, and not to the particulate matter alone. [2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosol

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 14, 2026 · Aerosols are small particles suspended in the atmosphere. They are often not or barely visible to the human eye, yet their impact on climate, weather, health, and ecology are significan…
https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/climate/data/deep-blue/aerosols

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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 2, 2010 · Even if the air looks clear, it’s nearly certain that you’ll inhale tens of millions of solid particles and liquid droplets. These ubiquitous specks of matter are known as aerosols, and …
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/aerosols/

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Claim 9: “The researchers also identified evidence of what scientists call "atmospheric memory."”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding 'atmospheric memory'.

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Claim 10: “Changes in cloud processes lead to the formation of more high-altitude clouds, which trap additional heat that would otherwise escape into space.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources explain that the warming is caused by the formation of high-altitude clouds that trap heat.

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web search NEUTRAL — During the first two days after aerosol levels increase, the atmosphere experiences a net warming effect. Changes in cloud processes lead to the formation of more high-altitude clouds, which trap addi…
https://phys.org/news/2026-06-aerosols-cool-climate.html

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web search NEUTRAL — The findings reveal a surprising pattern: in the first two days, aerosol-cloud interactions can create a net warming effect, as more high-altitude clouds trap heat that would otherwise escape into spa…
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hebrew-university_climatescie…

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web search NEUTRAL — Study finds aerosols warm the atmosphere before cooling it.At those altitudes, the extra moisture promotes the formation of additional ice crystals and high-altitude clouds — structures that act as a …
https://energiesmedia.com/aerosol-pollution-warming-cooling-…

schedule

Claim 11: “Guy Dagan, Opposing transient and equilibrium effective radiative forcing from aerosol-cloud interactions, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-72896-6”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.