Air Pollution and Extreme Weather

A recent study, led by Professor Zhanqing Li, from the University of Maryland, reveals that aerosols (Dust,Cigarette smoke,Mist from aerosol spray cans,Soot or fumes in car exhaust) effect cloud formation and hence weather conditions. Specifically, cloud thickness and height are affected which reduces rainfall in dry regions and increases it in wet regions.

Stuart Grey writes on DNEWS, "The researchers found that aerosols increase the size of certain clouds, which contain water and ice and also have low, warm bases. They attribute this effect, which is most significant in summer, to an aerosol induced invigoration of upward winds. In contrast, aerosols did not increase the thickness or precipitation intensity of clouds which had cold bases and no ice"

It was also revealed that aerosols increase the frequency of precipitation in clouds with higher water content, but decrease it for the reverse.The study involved a 10 year data set of climate measurements.