Go out on an early summer night just after sunset and stare west. Though the land is dark, the fading blue sky may reveal some beautiful tenuous white clouds still lit up by the rays of the sun. They look a bit like cirrus clouds; but they float far, far higher at 80 km. They are called noctilucent clouds. Not only are they the highest observable clouds, but they seem to have been completely unknown before 1885. Odd, isn’t it?
The most likely explanation for this is industrial pollution. We have two links for you today. One from Stuart Clark of the Guardian,[1] and a nice background filler from Wikipedia [2] for those curious enough to go for a second cup of coffee. The things seem to be largely made of water, which may be condensing around pollution particles. Methane may be playing a role as well, which is kind of scary to those of us who know its potential as a global warming gas par excellence.
Did they exist before industrial civilisation? Ancient peoples scoured the skies almost as obsessively as we do (there was no TV, bless ’em). Many of their records have come down to us. But none with reference to these clouds. The balance of probabilities suggests to us that they are indeed warnings from a sick planet, one of many now. One more idea to put to those obtuse souls who still don’t realise the damage we are doing. Or are they just too selfish to care?
[1]https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/may/29/starwatch-why-night-shine-clouds-at-edge-of-space-may-be-product-of-pollution
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud
#noctilucent clouds #pollution #methane #climate change #industrial revolution #mesosphere
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