A new upwelling longwave (LW) measuring technique is presented without the influence of an obstruction on a pyrgeometer using an infrared radiation thermometer, a downwelling LW pyrgeometer and an air temperature probe. This new technique could be used at other locations with obstruction issues and also to verify existing upwelling longwave pyrgeometer measurements. Satellite projects such as the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System rely on accurate measurements to verify their models.

Pollution particles cool climate and offset part of the global warming. However, they are washed out by rain and thus their effect responds quickly to changes in emissions. We show multiple datasets to demonstrate that aerosol emissions and their concentrations declined in many regions influenced by human emissions, as did the effects on clouds. Consequently, the cooling impact on the Earth energy budget became smaller. This change in trend implies a relative warming.