From Refrigerators to Climate Breakthroughs: The Scientist Who Changed Global Warming Science

Takeaways:

• Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an accidental climate scientist, discovered that CFCs are a powerful greenhouse gas.
• His research revealed that trace gases, not just CO2, significantly drive global warming.
• Ramanathan’s work influenced global climate policies, including the Montreal Protocol, and continues to inspire climate scientists worldwide.

Veerabhadran Ramanathan’s journey from a small town in southern India to becoming a pioneering climate scientist is a story of curiosity, chance, and groundbreaking discoveries.

Growing up in the 1960s, Ramanathan dreamed of the American life, including a Chevrolet Impala, a car his father, a tire salesman, had told him about. But after moving to the United States in his 20s, science quickly overtook such ambitions.

In the 1970s, Ramanathan was a postdoctoral researcher at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. By day, he worked under supervision; by night, he secretly pursued a side project that would reshape climate science. He discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used in refrigerators, air conditioners, and spray cans, were powerful greenhouse gases. His calculations showed that a single CFC molecule could trap as much heat as up to 10,000 molecules of carbon dioxide.

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“I was just a postdoc immigrant from India. I didn’t know if I should tell NASA about this or not. I just sent the paper off,” Ramanathan later recalled. Science published his findings, which made the front page of The New York Times in 1975. At a time when climate change was not a pressing concern, this revelation shocked scientists, including Ramanathan himself.

Ramanathan’s work proved that greenhouse gases beyond CO2, including methane and nitrous oxide, significantly contribute to global warming. His 1985 paper suggested that trace gases could accelerate climate change faster than previously thought, turning global warming from a distant concern into an immediate problem.

His discovery helped justify global action to curb CFCs, leading to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which banned their production and prevented potentially catastrophic warming of up to 1°C. Beyond CFCs, Ramanathan studied clouds, water vapor, and atmospheric pollution, revealing how these factors interact with global warming. His work on atmospheric brown clouds, a thick layer of air pollution over South Asia, highlighted how pollution could temporarily mask some warming effects.

Now 81, Ramanathan is a distinguished research professor at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, advising popes on climate policy. He drives a Tesla, powers his home with solar energy, and continues to inspire young scientists to rely on “data-based, not junk, science” to influence policy and public understanding.

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The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recently awarded Ramanathan the prestigious Crafoord Prize, recognizing his role in expanding our understanding of how human activities affect the atmosphere, climate, and air quality. His career proves that sometimes, the most unexpected discoveries come from following curiosity and a few happy accidents.

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Source: CNN Science