They want to shoot millions of tons of diamonds to cool the climate

Diamonds yes, but ground

The scientists’ new method, described in a report published in Geophysical Research Letters, assumes: the use of diamond dust as a thermal insulator of the globe. According to scientists’ calculations, launching into the stratosphere 5 million tons of diamond dust would allow the temperature on Earth to be reduced by up to 1.6 degrees Celsius.

Although this seems like a small adjustment, in the case of global climate, even such a difference can determine the possibility of life on Earth. The effect would be analogous to what happens after volcanic eruptions, but without the negative side effects of acid rain. Sulfur oxides, although effective, when combined with water then fall in the rain as sulfuric acid.

It is worth adding that the sulfur scenario, along with other chemicals fired over Antarctica, is also being analyzed by scientists.

How much will all this cost?

Saving our planet definitely won’t be a cheap operation. Synthetic diamonds could cost up to $200 trillion by the end of this century. It is worth mentioning at this point that we would disperse these 5 million tons of diamond dust into the stratosphere every year. Although diamond dust falls into the atmosphere very slowly and this is one of its key advantages, the project assumes systematic replenishment to maintain the heat insulation effect.

Importantly, diamonds do not form lumps, unlike other analyzed aerosols, so they do not pose a risk of scenarios of additional, uncontrolled climate deterioration. It is worth emphasizing here that the research was conducted based on three-dimensional climate models and modifications of aerosol compositions – this is still a very theoretical stage of work. Before anything is shot into the stratosphere, scientists still have years of research and… collecting funds for diamond dust.