According to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters, scientists in Japan discovered microplastics in clouds over Mount Fuji. The research team says it analyzed cloud water samples from Mount Fuji, Mount Oyama and other peaks in Japan ranging in elevation from 1,300 to 3,776 metres, and its results are pretty frightening.
The increase in plastic pollution over the past few decades has not only been linked to cancer, infertility and autoimmune diseases, but also to inflammatory bowel disease. We’ve even seen plastic particles appear in the fish and other foods we eat. The discovery that microplastics are even found in clouds is another reminder of how far our impact on the environment has gone.
“Our findings suggest that high-altitude microplastic cloud impacts cloud formation and may therefore alter climate,” the study authors write. Considering how many tons of plastic are dumped into the oceans every year, it’s not surprising that most of the microplastics discovered in clouds originate from the ocean.
Of course, the biggest concern here is the potential for the presence of microplastics in our clouds to further impact the climate, exacerbating climate change more than ever before. These microplastics can then travel to other parts of the world, spreading into different environments and affecting different animals and plants. However, many hydrophilic polymers have also been discovered that may play a major role in rapid cloud formation and thus further impact climate systems.
Researchers say they discovered 6.7 to 13.9 pieces of plastic in every liter of cloud water they analyzed. This means an enormous amount of microplastics can be found in a single liter of water, especially water raining back onto our planet at any given time.
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