{"id":56511,"date":"2025-10-10T19:54:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T14:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=56511"},"modified":"2025-10-13T12:19:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:49:56","slug":"solar-dimming-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-10-2025\/solar-dimming-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Solar Dimming in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Climate Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A recent joint study <strong>published in Nature\u2019s Scientific Reports<\/strong><em> <\/em>shows <strong>India\u2019s sunlight hours are shrinking<\/strong> due to <strong>pollution and cloud buildup<\/strong> threatening the country\u2019s solar energy ambitions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Solar Dimming?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Solar dimming refers to the observed decrease in surface solar radiation reaching the earth, It\u2019s caused primarily by:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aerosol pollution<\/strong> from industrial emissions, vehicular exhaust, and biomass burning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Persistent cloud cover<\/strong>, especially during monsoon months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Urban haze and humidity,<\/strong> which scatter and absorb sunlight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Findings of the Study on India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Decline in Sunshine Hours:<\/strong> The North Indian plains experienced the steepest reduction, losing about 13.1 hours of sunshine per year on average over the last three decades.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Twomey Effect:<\/strong> The study highlighted the Twomey effect, where increased anthropogenic aerosol emissions (from factories, vehicles, biomass burning) lead to a higher number of smaller cloud droplets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major Factor of Decline: <\/strong>The primary cause of long-term solar dimming is the rise in aerosol concentrations largely due to industrial outputs, vehicular emissions, and biomass burning.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aerosols<\/strong> act as <strong>tiny seeds for cloud formation<\/strong>, keeping skies overcast longer and reducing the sunlight that reaches the ground.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are two types of aerosols namely <strong>primary and secondary<\/strong>. <strong>Primary aerosols<\/strong> are directly emitted particles like sea salt, dust, and soot, while <strong>secondary aerosols <\/strong>form in the atmosphere through chemical reactions of gases such as SO\u2082, NO\u2093, and VOCs into sulphates, nitrates, or organic aerosols.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Implications: Energy, Agriculture, and Climate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Renewable Energy:<\/strong> Reduced sunlight threatens India\u2019s solar power potential.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Up to a <strong>7% decline in solar energy output<\/strong>, jeopardizing <strong>2030 clean energy goals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agriculture:<\/strong> Crops like rice and wheat, which depend heavily on photosynthesis, are showing reduced yields due to lower light intensity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environment:<\/strong> Dimming sunlight contributes indirectly to the <strong>melting of Himalayan glaciers<\/strong>, disrupting water cycles and regional ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Incoming Solar Radiation (Insolation)<\/strong><br>&#8211; It refers to the <strong>solar energy received by the Earth\u2019s surface<\/strong> in the <strong>form of shortwave radiation.<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is the <strong>primary source of heat and energy<\/strong> for our planet and drives atmospheric and climatic processes.<br>1. Earth receives <strong>1.94 calories per cm\u00b2 per minute<\/strong> at the <strong>top of the atmosphere.<\/strong><br>2. It varies slightly throughout the year due to the Earth\u2019s elliptical orbit:<br>(a). <strong>Aphelion<\/strong> (farthest from the Sun): July 4\u00a0<br>(b). <strong>Perihelion <\/strong>(closest to the Sun): January 3\u00a0<br>&#8211; The<strong> distribution<\/strong> of land and sea, atmospheric circulation, and angle of solar rays are important in <strong>daily weather and climate<\/strong>.<br><br><img data-dominant-color=\"acba91\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"550\" height=\"420\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-56512\" style=\"--dominant-color: #acba91; width: 550px;\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Incoming-Solar-Radiation-Insolation.webp\" alt=\"Incoming Solar Radiation (Insolation)\n\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Incoming-Solar-Radiation-Insolation.webp 380w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Incoming-Solar-Radiation-Insolation-300x229.webp 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><br><br><strong>Factors Affecting Insolation<\/strong><br>&#8211; The amount and intensity of insolation received at different locations and times depend on:<br>1. Earth\u2019s rotation on its axis;<br>2. Angle of inclination of the Sun\u2019s rays;<br>3. Length of the day;<br>4. <strong>Atmospheric transparency <\/strong>(affected by <strong><em>clouds, dust, and pollution);<\/em><\/strong><br>5. Topography and land configuration.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/pune\/india-getting-cloudier-with-steady-drop-in-sunshine-hours-across-most-regions-finds-study\/articleshow\/124397258.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TOI<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A recent joint study published in Nature\u2019s Scientific Reports shows India\u2019s sunlight hours are shrinking due to pollution and cloud buildup threatening the country\u2019s solar energy ambitions.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>Key Findings of the Study on India<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Decline in Sunshine Hours: The North Indian plains experienced the steepest reduction, losing about 13.1 hours of sunshine per year on average over the last three decades.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Twomey Effect: The study highlighted the Twomey effect, where increased anthropogenic aerosol emissions (from factories, vehicles, biomass burning) lead to a higher number of smaller cloud droplets.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Major Factor of Decline: The primary cause of long-term solar dimming is the rise in aerosol concentrations largely due to industrial outputs, vehicular emissions, and biomass burning.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/10-10-2025\/solar-dimming-in-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56511"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56515,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56511\/revisions\/56515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}