Exemplary illustrations of atmospheric particles and bioaerosols. Fig. 1 of [1].

In addition to long-lived climate drivers such as CO2, aerosol particles (cf. figure above) represent a significant short-lived climate driver that can affect the Earth's radiative budget. Aerosols can either directly scatter or absorb sunlight, or act as cloud nuclei, thereby influencing the Earth's radiative balance. To gain a deeper understanding of how human activities have influenced the Earth's climate and how future climate change may unfold in the context of reduced human emissions, it is essential to have a basic grasp of the aerosol climate effect. However, this understanding is complex. Aerosols can both warm and cool the Earth's climate due to they impact on the shortwave and longwave radiation budget (cf. figure right).

This presentation will provide a fundamental understanding of the effect of aerosols on the Earth's climate and present the latest results obtained using a wide range of methods employed in aerosol and climate research.

Contribution of (top) shortwave and (bottom) longwave radiation to the Earth's radiative balance. Source: Panels (a) and (b) of Fig 7.7 of [2].