Diamonds in the Sky: Scientists want to inject diamonds into our atmosphere to cool the planet!

In the face of an escalating climate crisis, scientists are exploring increasingly unconventional ideas to cool the planet. One of the more intriguing — and surprising — proposals is the use of diamond dust injected into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and reduce global temperatures. A team of climatologists, meteorologists, and Earth scientists found that injecting synthetic diamond particles might be the most effective way to combat global warming.

Just chill, chill

Global temperatures are rising rapidly, and scientists warn that we may have already reached a tipping point. Simply reducing carbon emissions may no longer be enough. Some experts argue that we need active measures to cool the planet and prevent further catastrophic changes to global weather patterns. One potential solution? Solar geoengineering — a method that involves injecting reflective particles, or aerosols, into the atmosphere to bounce sunlight back into space.

Historically, sulphur dioxide has been the leading candidate for this approach. Released naturally by volcanic eruptions, sulphur dioxide is known to have a cooling effect on the Earth by reflecting sunlight. However, the downside of injecting it artificially is significant: it could lead to acid rain, damage the ozone layer, and disrupt weather patterns.
The new study aimed to find a better alternative by modelling the impact of seven different materials: calcite, diamond, aluminium, silicon carbide, anatase, rutile, and sulphur dioxide. Their 3D climate models factored in light reflection, how long the particles would stay in the atmosphere, and whether they would clump together — something that could diminish their effectiveness.

Why diamonds?

The surprising result of the research was that diamond dust emerged as the most promising candidate. Tiny synthetic diamond particles proved to be highly effective at reflecting both sunlight and heat, while also remaining suspended in the atmosphere for a sufficient period. Unlike sulphur dioxide, diamonds are chemically inert, meaning they would not react with other atmospheric elements to cause harmful side effects like acid rain.

The models suggested that injecting 5 million tons of synthetic diamond dust into the atmosphere annually could reduce global temperatures by 1.6°C over the course of 45 years. This kind of cooling would be enough to counteract some of the most severe effects of climate change and potentially buy time for other long-term solutions.

The cost conundrum

Despite the effectiveness of diamond dust in the simulations, the practical challenge of this approach lies in its cost. Producing and distributing the necessary amount of synthetic diamonds would come with an astronomical price tag — an estimated $200 trillion. To put that into perspective, that’s roughly double the size of the global economy in 2023. While the benefits of cooling the planet are clear, such a high cost makes this solution far from feasible in the immediate future.
While the diamond dust concept is still in the research phase, the study underscores the urgency of exploring all possible solutions to cool the planet. As temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more frequent, unconventional ideas like this could play a role in the global effort to mitigate climate change.

The findings of this research have been published in Geophysical Research Letters and can be accessed here.