“Bond villain stuff”- Netizens react as the UK government reportedly set to conduct experiment to dim the sun to curb global warming 

In a bid to combat global warming, the UK government is prepared to fund outdoor experiments aimed at dimming sunlight. The £50 million program will include small-scale experiments to gather critical data for assessing the large-scale potential of geoengineering methods to lower the Earth’s temperature. The news caught the flurry of reactions from netizens.

"Bond villain stuff," a user wrote on X.

While some users reacted with witty comments, others displayed serious concerns.

"This is absolutely diabolical and should be absolutely condemned by every single Nation on Earth. We have no idea how such experiments are going to go and it could ruin the Earth for everyone. Starmer is the most dangerous British prime minister in a very long time, " a user posted on X.

"And what happens with wildlife, pollination, soils, fresh water. Pure madness. Irresponsible, disgusting, life altering, planet wrecking madness." a user reacted to news.

"So why are we converting arable land with solar panels? And why dim the sun in a country that is known for its rainy weather? These people approving this are insane and need locking up, they're a danger to everything," another user wrote.

While many raised their eyebrows at the suspected ill effects of these experiments, some users also questioned the territorial authority of Britain over the atmosphere.

"Shouldn’t countries have to be in agreement over doing this stupid, that will affect people everywhere? Shouldn’t British citizens get a vote on something like this?" another netizen shared on X.

"Yeah UK doesn't get to decide what happens to the earth's atmosphere. Trying this is a sure path to some hard conversations with people militarily stronger," another user commented.

Online users relayed the same views on Instagram, a lawyer and comedian, @wesley.austin2 shared a post about this, on which users commented the following:

Screenshot of users' reaction to the news of the UK funding sun dimming project (Image via Instagram/@wesley.austin2)

While the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, the statutory body backing these experiments, called it "safe by design," netizens have reservations.

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Here are more details about the UK sun-dimming project to lower global warming

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is set to announce a few outdoor projects to reduce global warming. These projects will include controversial geoengineering methods to reflect the sunlight back into space. Solar geoengineering involves two methods: one is Stratospheric Aerosol Injection, or SAI, and the other is Marine Cloud Brightening.

SAI works by adding aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight away from Earth, similar to how volcanoes cool the planet after eruptions. Marine Cloud Brightening uses ships to spray sea salt into the air, making clouds in the lower atmosphere brighter so they reflect more sunlight.

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ARIA's stance on this global warming reduction project

The solar geoengineering methods to counter global warming have been in theory for so long; however, there is a lack of real-world data, and hence, many such projects were halted in the past after facing opposition.

The ARIA said that these experiments will be done on a small scale and can be reversed. The aim is only to gather real-world data and assess its mass applicability in reducing global warming. However, others in the scientific community say that it can have catastrophic effects and can alter rainfall patterns, among other changes.

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While there are concerns regarding the use of any perilous technology, the global community is already lagging in meeting emission targets to reduce global warming.