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Asian air pollution intensifies Pacific storms: Study
Air pollution in China and other Asian countries is affecting weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, as well as other parts of the globe, especially during winter, according to a study.
The particulate matter in the air are carried towards the north Pacific where they interact with water droplets in the air, causing the formation of denser clouds that result in more intense storms above the ocean, say researchers.
“Since the Pacific storm track is an important component in the global general circulation, the impacts of Asian pollution on the storm track tend to affect the weather patterns of other parts of the world during the wintertime, especially a downstream region [of the storm track] like North America,” said Dr Yuan Wang, the lead author.
“The impacts of Asian pollution on the storm track tend to affect the weather patterns of other parts of the world […] the effects are quite dramatic. The pollution results in thicker and taller clouds and heavier precipitation,” said Wang.
The impact of pollution on the weather pattern intensifies in the winter.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Convection depth in MMF and CAM for PD and PI over the northwest Pacific. Wang et al. PNAS
Abstract
Assessing the effects of anthropogenic aerosols on Pacific storm track using a multiscale global climate model
Atmospheric aerosols affect weather and global general circulation by modifying cloud and precipitation processes, but the magnitude of cloud adjustment by aerosols remains poorly quantified and represents the largest uncertainty in estimated forcing of climate change. Here we assess the effects of anthropogenic aerosols on the Pacific storm track, using a multiscale global aerosol–climate model (GCM). Simulations of two aerosol scenarios corresponding to the present day and preindustrial conditions reveal long-range transport of anthropogenic aerosols across the north Pacific and large resulting changes in the aerosol optical depth, cloud droplet number concentration, and cloud and ice water paths. Shortwave and longwave cloud radiative forcing at the top of atmosphere are changed by −2.5 and +1.3 W m−2, respectively, by emission changes from preindustrial to present day, and an increased cloud top height indicates invigorated midlatitude cyclones. The overall increased precipitation and poleward heat transport reflect intensification of the Pacific storm track by anthropogenic aerosols. Hence, this work provides, for the first time to the authors’ knowledge, a global perspective of the effects of Asian pollution outflows from GCMs. Furthermore, our results suggest that the multiscale modeling framework is essential in producing the aerosol invigoration effect of deep convective clouds on a global scale.
What about the US and EU Shares of Air Pollution, Dr Wang?
Interestingly, the report doesn’t say much about the air pollution created by the U.S. and EU.
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