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01 / 05
China’s Year-to-Date Irradiance up 30 Percent as Aerosols Drop

pv magazine | Pollution

China’s Year-to-Date Irradiance up 30 Percent as Aerosols Drop

“Eastern China’s clear and dry start to 2025 has continued through April, maintaining the strong irradiance anomalies first observed in January. Solar irradiance across the eastern lowlands remains markedly elevated, supported by persistently weak onshore trade winds and a notable reduction in atmospheric haze. These conditions, which follow an exceptional January, have pushed year-to-date irradiance in some parts of China to levels 30% above the long-term average…

A key factor behind this trend is the significant reduction in airborne pollutants. From January through April, as measured by aerosol load, major Chinese cities recorded some of their cleanest air in nearly two decades. Irradiance lost to aerosols and haze was at its lowest level since Solcast tracking begins in 2007 in Beijing, and second lowest in Guangzhou. Shanghai’s readings were the fourth cleanest on record, trailing only the pandemic-influenced years of 2020–2022. Seoul, too, saw its lowest levels of pollution over the same period.”

From pv magazine.

The Guardian | Environment & Pollution

Yangtze River Rebounds After Fishing Ban

“The Yangtze River in China, which has been in ecological decline for 70 years, is showing signs of recovery thanks to a sweeping fishing ban…

The rapid improvement noted in the study, which compared data from the two years before (2019-2021) with the two years after (2021-23), included a twofold increase in overall biomass and a 13% improvement in diversity. One of the most endangered species, the Yangtze finless porpoise, appeared to have been a major beneficiary with observed numbers rising from 400 to 600, according to Brosse.”

From The Guardian.

Ohio State News | Environment & Pollution

US Forests Are Locking in Major Carbon Emissions

“U.S. forests have stored more carbon in the past two decades than at any time in the last century, an increase attributable to a mix of natural factors and human activity, finds a new study…

The study looked at six drivers – temperature, precipitation, carbon dioxide, management, age composition and area – and the team was surprised by exactly how much natural factors influenced the total amount of carbon stored by U.S. forests. For instance, changes in temperature and precipitation from 2005 to 2022 led to an increase of 66 million metric tons of carbon sequestration per year. 

During the same period, human intervention had both negative and positive effects, as human-caused deforestation reduced stored forest carbon by about 31 million tons per year, while activities like tree-planting and reforestation added about 23 million tons per year. Yet it was forest age — mostly structural changes in the peak growth stages of local trees — that helped lock in the most carbon, by 89 million metric tons per year.”

From Ohio State News.

The Guardian | Conservation & Biodiversity

Bermuda Snail Rebounds After near Extinction

“A button-sized snail once feared extinct in its Bermudian home is thriving again after conservationists bred and released more than 100,000 of the molluscs.

The greater Bermuda snail (Poecilozonites bermudensis) was found in the fossil record but believed to have vanished from the North Atlantic archipelago, until a remnant population was discovered in a damp and overgrown alleyway in Hamilton, the island capital, in 2014.

After a decade-long international effort by conservation scientists, the government of Bermuda and Chester zoo, where thousands of the snails were bred before being transported back to the islands, the species has been confirmed as safe from extinction.”

From The Guardian.

Carbon Brief | Environment & Pollution

China’s CO2 Emissions Have Now Been ‘Flat or Falling’ for 21 Months

“China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions fell by 1% in the final quarter of 2025, likely securing a decline of 0.3% for the full year as a whole.

This extends a ‘flat or falling’ trend in China’s CO2 emissions that began in March 2024 and has now lasted for nearly two years.

The new analysis for Carbon Brief shows that, in 2025, emissions from fossil fuels increased by an estimated 0.1%, but this was more than offset by a 7% decline in CO2 from cement…

China’s carbon intensity – its fossil-fuel emissions per unit of GDP – fell by 4.7% in 2025 and by 12% during 2020-25.”

From Carbon Brief.