Thus suggests that there is a much higher internal mixing rate than was previously thought. Once technical hurdles have been overcome, direct measurement could confirm whether this is true. Although the connection between global warming and black-carbon release is far from proven, there is another important reason to reduce our emissions. Evidence is accumulating that black carbon adversely affects human health, being implicated in diseases from asthma to cardiovascular problems. There is a brighter side to the problem, however.
Black carbon has a far shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide or methane.
According to new modelling calculations, black carbon in the atmosphere exerts a large warming influence on global climate. Curbing emissions of this pollutant may be advisable both on climate and on human health grounds.