Radiative forcing reduced by early twenty-first century increase in land albedo

Zhengyang Hou, Liqiang Zhang (), Jingjing Peng, Giovanni Forzieri, Aolin Jia, Zhiqiang Xiao, Ying Qu, Jintai Lin (), Duoying Ji, Zidong Zhu, Xin Yao, Shuwen Peng, Lanpu Zhao, Wenjie Fan, Zhaocong Wu, Hao Geng, Qihao Wang, Chenghu Zhou (), Suhong Liu and Liangpei Zhang ()
Additional contact information
Zhengyang Hou: Beijing Normal University
Liqiang Zhang: Beijing Normal University
Jingjing Peng: University of Maryland
Giovanni Forzieri: University of Florence
Aolin Jia: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
Zhiqiang Xiao: Beijing Normal University
Ying Qu: Beijing Normal University
Jintai Lin: Peking University
Duoying Ji: Beijing Normal University
Zidong Zhu: Beijing Normal University
Xin Yao: Beijing Normal University
Shuwen Peng: Beijing Normal University
Lanpu Zhao: Henan Academy of Sciences
Wenjie Fan: Peking University
Zhaocong Wu: Henan Academy of Sciences
Hao Geng: Beijing Normal University
Qihao Wang: Beijing Normal University
Chenghu Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Suhong Liu: Beijing Normal University
Liangpei Zhang: Henan Academy of Sciences

Nature, 2025, vol. 641, issue 8065, 1162-1171

Abstract: Abstract Surface albedo greatly affects how much energy the Earth absorbs. Intensive human activities and accelerated climate change have altered surface albedo across spatial and temporal scales1–3, yet assessments of the effects of land use or land cover (LULC) and snow variations on land surface albedo are scarce at the global scale. As a result, the global land surface albedo dynamics over recent decades and their corresponding radiative forcing to the climate system remain poorly understood4–9. Here we quantify the individual and combined effects of snow cover dynamics, LULC conversions and non-conversion regions on albedo variations during 2001–2020 and estimate their induced radiative forcing. We show that the negative radiative forcing induced by the global land surface albedo change was −0.142 (−0.158, −0.114) W m−2 over the past two decades. The global snow-free land surface albedo increased by 2.2% (P

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08987-z

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