Chinese Coal Pollution Halted Global Warming: Study

Researchers say sulphur released by China's coal plants masked global warming despite a massive increase in greenhouse gases.

A new study suggests that the Asian pollutants that cause acid rain are also largely responsible for temporarily halting global warming. Researchers at Harvard and Boston Universities and Finland's University of Turku argue that the cooling effect of sulphur emissions from Chinese coal consumption prevented worldwide temperatures from rising between 1998 and 2008, masking the effects of global warning. The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also warns that more rapid climate change is likely to occur as the emerging economies crack down on coal-fueled pollution. Many scientists have supported the new study, which refutes the pervasive claim that global warning has simply stopped.