In the popular film "Through the snow" from the director of the Oscar-winning "Parasites" Pon Jun Ho scientists sprayed a chemical in the atmosphere to stop global warming, but overdid it — as a result, a new Ice Age began on Earth. It's an interesting plot for a movie, but researchers do suggest doing something similar to prevent one of the effects of global warming.
In particular, scientists from the University of Cape Town suggested Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering could lower future risk of ‘Day Zero’ level droughts in Cape Town that the release of reflective particles into the Earth's atmosphere will help protect the planet from a possible drought in Africa caused by global warming. And no, it's not a joke.
When modeling this method, the researchers found that it reduces the percentage of sunlight that reaches the surface of the planet and reduces the risk of a "Zero Day" by 90%. This is a theoretical mark when reservoirs will not be able to provide residents of the area with water: Cape Town was Cape Town water usage lower than ever three months away in 2018, so it is not surprising that local scientists are actively working in this direction.
The idea sounds wild, but the scale of the problem requires attention to all possible solutions. However, particle spraying will help with only one "symptom" of global warming, but it will not stop it completely and will not help recover from the damage already done to the planet. In addition, there is not enough information to assess the risks of such a method: as in post-apocalyptic films, it can only get worse.
Moreover, even if South Africa decides that the measure is necessary to protect against drought, one country cannot carry out such interventions without the consent of others. In the worst-case scenario, the debate could turn into an international conflict. In any case, research is just research, and this idea is not going to be implemented... yet.
