Stratospheric cooling and amplification of radiative forcing with rising carbon dioxide
Lorenzo M. Polvani
Nature Geoscience, Published online: 11 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-01965-8 Higher carbon dioxide levels widen the part of the heat spectrum that can emit energy to space, cooling the stratosphere and strengthening the warming effect of this gas, according to idealized spectroscopy and radiative transfer model simulations.