Scientists make alarming discovery about common airborne particles — and it could set a new standard for natural disasters

Scientists have been finding microplastics in more and more surprising places. New research says the tiny pieces of plastic might even be impacting Earth's weather and climate.

What's happening?

It seems like microplastics, which are less than 5 millimeters in length, are showing up everywhere. They have been found in farm soil, rivers, oceans, and even brain tissue.

Pennsylvania State University researchers believe these tiny pieces of plastic might be affecting our planet's weather and climate.

Their new study, published in November in the journal Environmental Science and Technology: Air, showed that microplastics function as ice-nucleating particles, tiny aerosols that promote the formation of ice crystals in clouds.

"In the case of our microplastics, 50% of the droplets were frozen by minus 22 degrees Celsius for most of the plastics studied," Penn State graduate student Heidi Busse said, per a news release. "It turns out that if you introduce something insoluble, you introduce a defect into that droplet and it can nucleate ice at warmer temperatures.

"... We know that the fact that microplastics can nucleate ice has far-reaching effects, we're just not quite sure yet what those are. We can think about this on many different levels, not just in terms of more powerful storms but also through changes in light scattering, which could have a much larger impact on our climate."

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Why are microplastics found in the atmosphere important?

The study points out that microplastics' influence on how ice crystals form clouds could affect everything from precipitation patterns to weather forecasting, climate modeling, and even aviation safety.

Researchers say it isn't clear exactly how microplastics are impacting climate because it is difficult to model their influence. Still, one side effect might be that they help clouds produce heavier rainfall events. Microplastics may also be altering clouds in ways that can cool or warm the atmosphere, depending on the altitude at which those clouds are forming.

What's being done about microplastics?

Pollution was ranked as the 10th-greatest threat to the world in the short and long term in the World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report 2024. At least 175 nations agreed to end plastic pollution at a 2022 U.N. Environment Assembly. It has been hoped that, by the end of this year, a legally binding agreement that addresses single-use plastics and other related issues will be drawn up for the nations to sign — but, as of early December, details were still being debated.

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New technology is helping scientists discover innovative solutions to mitigate the problem of microplastics. One such solution involves turning microplastics into a material that is even stronger than steel. The technology could turn the plastic waste into higher-value materials instead of just breaking it down.

Korean scientists have also designed a water filtration system that can remove nearly 100% of pollutants in an instant.
Another promising recent discovery from a research team uses biochar, organic farm residue transformed into a carbon-rich material that might dramatically reduce the amount of microplastics that wind up in oceans, drinking water, and food from farms.