China’s success in cleaning up air pollution may have accelerated global warming: Study
研究显示：中国治理空气污染的成功可能加速了全球变暖

Efforts to clean up air pollution in China and across East Asia may have inadvertently contributed to a spike in global warming, a new study has found.
一项新研究发现，中国及东亚地区治理空气污染的努力可能无意中加剧了全球变暖。

The decline in aerosol emissions — which can cool the planet by absorbing sunlight —  have added about 0.05 degrees Celsius in warming per decade since 2010, according to the study, published on Monday in Communications Earth & Environment.
根据周一发表在《通讯-地球与环境》期刊上的研究，气溶胶排放的减少——这些颗粒本可通过吸收阳光为地球降温——使得 2010 年以来每十年全球气温额外上升约 0.05 摄氏度。

At that time, China began implementing aggressive air quality policies and was ultimately able to achieve a 75 percent reduction in emissions rate of toxic sulfur dioxide, the authors noted.
当时中国开始实施积极的空气质量政策，最终成功将有毒二氧化硫的排放率降低了 75%，研究作者指出。

Sulfur dioxide gas, harmful pollutants that result from fossil fuel combustion and volcanoes, are precursors of sulfate aerosols, which are the dominant aerosol species that cool the Earth today.
二氧化硫气体是化石燃料燃烧和火山活动产生的有害污染物，它们是硫酸盐气溶胶的前体物质，而硫酸盐气溶胶正是当前地球上最主要的降温型气溶胶。

Despite posing health threats to plants, humans and other animals, these particles are among the many types of aerosols that also cool the planet. 
尽管这些颗粒物对植物、人类和其他动物构成健康威胁，但它们属于众多能降低地球温度的气溶胶类型之一。

When clouds form around aerosols, such particles can absorb solar energy from the atmosphere and thereby reduce sunlight at ground level. And if clouds are not present, aerosols can reflect sunlight back into outer space.
当云层在气溶胶周围形成时，这些颗粒能从大气中吸收太阳能，从而减少地面接收的阳光。若没有云层存在，气溶胶还能将阳光反射回外太空。

Before China’s air quality improvement policies took effect, pollution was a leading cause of premature death in the country, the study authors noted.
研究作者指出，在中国空气质量改善政策生效前，污染曾是导致国民过早死亡的主要原因。

However, with fewer cooling aerosols now present in the atmosphere, areas of East Asia and around the world have endured intensified warming — and are expected to face even more extreme heat, shifting monsoon patterns and potential disruptions to agriculture, according to the study.
但研究显示，随着大气中冷却气溶胶减少，东亚及全球多地正经历更强烈的变暖效应，预计将面临更极端的高温天气、季风模式改变以及农业潜在风险。

The plunge in sulfate levels “partially unmasks greenhouse-gas driven warming and influences the spatial pattern of surface temperature change,” the researchers observed.
研究人员发现，硫酸盐浓度骤降"部分抵消了温室气体驱动的变暖效应，并改变了地表温度变化的空间分布模式"。

“Reducing air pollution has clear health benefits, but without also cutting CO₂, you’re removing a layer of protection against climate change,” co-author Robert Allen, a climatology professor at the University of California, Riverside, said in statement.
"减少空气污染对健康有明显益处，但若不同时削减二氧化碳排放，就等于移除了抵御气候变化的一层防护罩，"加州大学河滨分校气候学教授、合著者罗伯特·艾伦在声明中表示。

“It highlights the need for parallel efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
"这凸显了在改善空气质量和减少温室气体排放方面需要同步努力，"他表示。

Allen and his colleagues drew their conclusions based on simulations from major climate models for the years 2015 to 2049, using data from the Regional Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project, which includes contributions from the U.S., Europe and Asia.
艾伦及其同事基于 2015 年至 2049 年间主要气候模型的模拟数据得出这一结论，这些数据来自区域气溶胶模型比对项目，该项目汇集了美国、欧洲和亚洲的研究成果。

They projected a global, annual mean warming of about 0.07 degrees Celsius due to aerosol emissions reductions, with 0.05 degrees Celsius of warming per decade already occurring since 2010.
他们预测，由于气溶胶排放减少，全球年均气温将上升约 0.07 摄氏度，而自 2010 年以来每十年已出现 0.05 摄氏度的升温。

Emissions reductions applied to their simulations corresponded closely with those realized over the 2010 to 2023 period in East Asia, the authors noted, adding that emissions from the region are expected to continue to decline — albeit at a slower rate.
研究作者指出，模拟中采用的减排量与 2010 至 2023 年东亚地区实际减排量高度吻合，并补充说明该地区排放量预计将持续下降——尽管速度会有所放缓。

Although their work focused on sulfate aerosols, the researchers stressed that carbon dioxide and methane emissions remain the biggest drivers of long-term climate change.
尽管他们的研究聚焦于硫酸盐气溶胶，但科学家们强调二氧化碳和甲烷排放仍是长期气候变化的最大推手。

“Our study focused on the recent, dramatic speedup in global warming, which is very concerning but still small compared to the overall, long-term amount of warming from increased CO2 and methane,” said lead author Bjørn Samset, a senior researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Norway, in a statement.
"我们的研究关注的是近期全球变暖速度的急剧加快，这种现象虽然令人极度担忧，但与二氧化碳和甲烷增加导致的长期整体变暖幅度相比仍属微小，"挪威国际气候与环境研究中心高级研究员、论文第一作者比约恩·萨姆塞特在声明中表示。

Allen, meanwhile, also emphasized that because aerosols are short-lived in the atmosphere, the spike in global temperatures could subside in the near future.
与此同时，艾伦也强调，由于气溶胶在大气中存留时间较短，全球气温的飙升可能在短期内消退。

“Sulfur dioxide and sulfate aerosols have lifetimes of about a week,” he said. “Once they’re removed, we’ll eventually settle back into a warming rate that’s more consistent with the long-term trend.”
二氧化硫和硫酸盐气溶胶的存续周期仅约一周，"他指出，"一旦这些物质被清除，全球变暖速率最终将回归到与长期趋势更为吻合的状态。

As other regions across the world, including South Asia, Africa and North America, begin to phase out aerosol emissions, the scientists said they plan to analyze how potential shifts could shape forthcoming climate trends.
随着南亚、非洲和北美等全球其他地区开始逐步淘汰气溶胶排放，科学家表示计划分析这种潜在转变将如何影响未来气候趋势。

“Air quality improvements are a no-brainer for public health,” Allen said. “But if we want to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we have to cut CO₂ and methane too. The two must go hand in hand.”
改善空气质量对公共健康有百利而无一害，"艾伦表示，"但若要避免气候变化的最恶劣影响，我们还必须同步削减二氧化碳和甲烷排放。二者必须双管齐下。