Scientists want to inject millions of tons of DIAMONDS into the atmosphere to slow global warming – but there’s a huge catch

It’s an idea that sounds like it belongs in the latest sci-fi blockbuster.

But spewing millions of tons of diamonds into the air could finally be the global warming solution we’ve been looking for.

This is what scientists from the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, ETH Zurich, say, who wanted to investigate the effects of spraying various aerosols into the atmosphere to cool the Earth.

While previous studies focused on sulfur dioxide, the researchers found that diamonds would actually be much more effective.

Their models even show that shooting five million tons of diamond dust into the stratosphere every year could cool our planet by an impressive 1.6°C.

However, in news that will come as no surprise, this would come at a high cost.

The researchers predict that such a project would cost almost $200 trillion (£153 trillion) over the rest of this century.

Global greenhouse gas emissions are growing year after year, with devastating consequences for global temperatures.

Last month was the second hottest September on record, with a global average air temperature of 16.17°C.

Moreover, several months in 2024 have broken records and become the hottest months on record for that particular month, namely January, February, March, April, May and June.

Climate scientists around the world are frantically looking at various measures to slow this warming – including removing greenhouse gases from the air and limiting future emissions.

In their new research, however, the team wanted to explore whether we could cool our planet by spraying particles into the air that reflect sunlight – a technique known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI).

Most previous SAI research has focused on injecting sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the air – a process that occurs naturally during volcanic eruptions.

However, as the researchers point out in their study, published in Geophysical research lettersthis is subject to ‘various restrictions’.

Not only would sulfur dioxide react and cause acid rain around the world, but it could also damage the ozone layer and wreak havoc on weather patterns.

The team set out to investigate whether we could cool our planet by spraying particles into the air that reflect sunlight – a technique known as stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) (stock image)

Instead, the team modeled the effects of injecting six solids – diamond, calcite, aluminum, silicon carbide, anatase and rutile – into the stratosphere.

Their model analyzed the effects of each particle over a period of 45 years, including how it would be transported around the world, how it would absorb or reflect heat, and whether or not it would clump.

The results showed that diamond particles were the best at reflecting heat, while also staying aloft and not clumping.

And because diamonds are inert, they would not react to form acid rain.

“The resulting circulatory and climate side effects, especially from diamond injections, could be substantially reduced compared to SO2, making diamond particles the most suitable for SAI from an optical properties perspective among the materials examined here,” the researchers explained .

However, to achieve a cooling of 1.6°C – enough to prevent the worst effects of global warming – you will need a whole load of diamonds.

Speak with ScienceSandro Vattioni, lead author of the study, revealed that you would have to inject five million tons of diamond particles into the stratosphere every year.

This would cost around $200 trillion (£153 trillion).

To put that into perspective, that’s roughly 800 times more than the net worth of Elon Musk, who is currently the richest person in the world!

Based on the findings, it is highly unlikely that spraying diamonds into the air will become a reality anytime soon.

However, the researchers hope that their research will lead to further research into SAI alternatives.

“We propose further investigation into agglomeration processes in turbulent aircraft wakes and into measurements of optical properties of a variety of potential solid particle materials,” the team concluded.