Articles | Volume 26, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10767-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-10767-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
03 Aug 2026
Research article |
| 03 Aug 2026
| 03 Aug 2026
Long-term trends in reconstructed atmospheric aerosol load based on large-scale sunshine duration records since 1900
William Wandji Nyamsi
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, P.O. Box 812 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Ville Leinonen
Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Aerosol Physics Laboratory, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
Antti Lipponen
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Else van den Besselaar
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, Netherlands
Santtu Mikkonen
Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo
Department of Physics, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
Martin Wild
ETH Zurich, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Zurich, Switzerland
Doris Folini
ETH Zurich, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Zurich, Switzerland
Tero Mielonen
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Harri Kokkola
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Antti Kukkurainen
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Neus Sabater
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Rei Kudo
Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan
Ben Liley
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to Earth Sciences, Wellington, New Zealand
now at: New Zealand Institute for Earth Science Limited, Lauder, New Zealand
Raghav Srinivasan
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to Earth Sciences, Wellington, New Zealand
now at: New Zealand Institute for Earth Science Limited, Lauder, New Zealand
Bruce W. Forgan
Bureau of Meteorology, Docklands Vic 3008, Victoria, Australia
Alexandru Dumitrescu
Department of Climatology, Meteo Romania (National Meteorological Administration), Bucharest, Romania
Grzegorz Urban
Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Michał K. Kowalewski
Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Márcia Akemi Yamasoe
Departamento de Ciências Atmosféricas, Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-090, São Paulo, Brazil
Nilton Évora do Rosário
Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
Dimitra Founda
Institute for Environmental Research & Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece
Stelios Kazadzis
Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos, World Radiation Center, Davos, Switzerland
Veronica Manara
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy
Derbetini A. Vondou
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, P.O. Box 812 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Christian Gueymard
Solar Consulting Services, Colebrook, NH, 03576, United States of America
Anders V. Lindfors
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
Atsumu Ohmura
ETH Zurich, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Zurich, Switzerland
Antti Arola
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Data sets
OMI/Aura TOMS-Like Ozone, Aerosol Index, Cloud Radiance Fraction L3 1 day 1 degree x 1 degree V3 Pawan K. Bhartia https://doi.org/10.5067/Aura/OMI/DATA3001
MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics V5.12.4 Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) https://doi.org/10.5067/KLICLTZ8EM9D
Historical reconstruction of past atmospheric aerosol load from sunshine duration measurements W. Wandji Nyamsi and A. Arola https://doi.org/10.57707/fmi-b2share.14e58e89d157468ba155836a72878692
Long-term trends in reconstructed atmospheric aerosol load based on large-scale sunshine duration records since 1900 W. Wandji Nyamsi et al. https://doi.org/10.57707/fmi-b2share.ae9691880b334499b112fe9d174187ab
Short summary
Worldwide reconstructed historical aerosol load reveals that during the period of:
- 1900–1959: the atmosphere became cleaner in most European cities;
- 1960–1985: anthropogenic aerosols were responsible for the dimming phenomenon in Europe. AOD increased over Southeast Brazil and decreased noticeably over Japan while a small negative trend was found over Oceania;
- 1986–2015: generally, the atmosphere has become much cleaner everywhere after the reversal trend around 1980s mainly observed in Europe.
Worldwide reconstructed historical aerosol load reveals that during the period of:
- 1900–1959:...
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