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Cloud Brightening Could Reduce Super El Niño Damage 40%

7/11/2026

Summary

Story summary

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography modeled marine cloud brightening to dim the sun and curb super-El Niño damage.
NOAA reports a 63 percent chance that Pacific temperatures will exceed 2 °C, creating a super El Niño.
Researchers using Black Summer fire smoke found brightening could cut El Niño impacts by about 40 percent.
Experts warn that producing correctly sized particles and avoiding over-cooling remain unresolved while Katherine Ricke says the work is only a proof of concept.

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Story summary

Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography modeled marine cloud brightening to dim the sun and curb super-El Niño damage.
NOAA reports a 63 percent chance that Pacific temperatures will exceed 2 °C, creating a super El Niño.
Researchers using Black Summer fire smoke found brightening could cut El Niño impacts by about 40 percent.
Experts warn that producing correctly sized particles and avoiding over-cooling remain unresolved while Katherine Ricke says the work is only a proof of concept.