Climate change accelerates the threat of microplastics

For years, microplastics have been an environmental and health threat, but as the world heats up, driving increasingly extreme weather, they pose a new threat. According to a new study, microplastics are becoming “more mobile, persistent and hazardous pollutants,” prompting many to call for urgent action.

Pierre Herckes, PhD, Professor at the School of Molecular Sciences at ASU, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the way microplastics are evolving and what threat they pose.

Dr. Herckes explained a team of scientists conducted hundreds of studies and found sufficient evidence that climate change is worsening plastic pollution in our water, soil, atmosphere and wildlife. The increasing temperatures, humidity and sunlight break plastic down, making it frail and accelerating its disintegration into tiny fragments.

Extreme flooding, winds and storms also accelerate the breakdown of plastic, mobilizing it and spreading it more widely, Dr. Herckes said. Extreme wildfires, which can be fueled by drought and high temperatures, burn through homes, vehicles and offices, releasing microplastics and highly toxic compounds into the atmosphere.