Asian brown cloud
Encyclopedia
The Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution
that covers parts of South Asia
, namely the northern Indian Ocean
, India
, and Pakistan
. Viewed from satellite photos, the cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of South Asia and the Indian Ocean every year between January and March, possibly also during earlier and later months. The term was coined in reports from the UNEP Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX).
burning and industrial processes with incomplete burning. The cloud is associated with the winter monsoon (November/December to April) during which there is no rain to wash pollutants from the air.
Subsequently, when the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) organized a follow-up international project, the subject of study was renamed the Atmospheric Brown Cloud with focus on Asia.
The cloud was also reported by NASA
in 2004 and 2007.
Although aerosol particles are generally associated with a global cooling
effect, recent studies have shown that they can actually have a warming effect in certain regions such as the Himalayas
.
. A 2002 study indicated nearly two million people die each year, in India alone, from conditions related to the brown cloud.
cyclones more intense as the atmospheric brown clouds has been producing weakening wind patterns which prevent wind shear patterns that historically have prohibited cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms. This phenomena was found responsible for the formation of stronger storms in 2007
and 2010
that were the first recorded storms to enter the Gulf of Oman
.
and concluded that the brown clouds have masked 20 to 80 percent of greenhouse gas
forcing in the past century. The report suggested that air pollution regulations can have large amplifying effects on global warming.
Another major impact is on the polar ice caps. Black carbon
(soot
) in the Asian Brown Cloud may be reflecting sunlight and dimming Earth below but it is warming other places by absorbing incoming radiation and warming the atmosphere and whatever it touches. Black carbon is three times more effective than carbon dioxide—the most common greenhouse gas—at melting polar ice and snow. Black carbon in snow causes about three times the temperature change as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. On snow —even at concentrations below five parts per billion— dark carbon triggers melting, and may be responsible for as much as 94 percent of Arctic warming. As a result arctic sea ice cover is shrinking year-round, with more ice melting in the spring and summer months and less ice forming in the fall and winter. Arctic sea ice melted over the summer of 2010 to cover the third smallest area on record. The extent of Arctic ice is dropping at something like 11 percent per decade—very quickly, in other words. Mark Serreze claims that by September 2030, or so, the Arctic probably won't have any ice at all. It will look like a blue ocean.
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
that covers parts of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, namely the northern Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Viewed from satellite photos, the cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of South Asia and the Indian Ocean every year between January and March, possibly also during earlier and later months. The term was coined in reports from the UNEP Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX).
Causes
The Asian brown cloud is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants from combustion (e.g. woodfires, cars, and factories), biomassBiomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
burning and industrial processes with incomplete burning. The cloud is associated with the winter monsoon (November/December to April) during which there is no rain to wash pollutants from the air.
Observations
This pollution layer was observed during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) intensive field observation in 1999 and described in the UNEP impact assessment study published 2002. Scientists in India claimed that the Asian Brown cloud is not something specific to Asia.Subsequently, when the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
(UNEP) organized a follow-up international project, the subject of study was renamed the Atmospheric Brown Cloud with focus on Asia.
The cloud was also reported by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
in 2004 and 2007.
Although aerosol particles are generally associated with a global cooling
Global cooling
Global cooling was a conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earth's surface and atmosphere along with a posited commencement of glaciation...
effect, recent studies have shown that they can actually have a warming effect in certain regions such as the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
.
Health
One major impact is on healthHealth
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
. A 2002 study indicated nearly two million people die each year, in India alone, from conditions related to the brown cloud.
Regional weather
A second assessment study was published in 2008. It highlighted regional concerns regarding:- Changes of rainfall patterns with the Asian monsoonMonsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
. The observed weakening Indian monsoon and in China northern drought and southern flooding is influenced by the clouds. - Increase in rainfall over the AustralianAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Top EndTop EndThe Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the...
and Kimberley regions. A CSIRO study has found that by displacing the thermal equatorThermal equatorThe thermal equator is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest mean annual temperature at each longitude around the globe...
southwards via cooling of the air over East Asia, the monsoonMonsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
which brings most of the rain to these regions has been intensified and displaced southward. - Retreat of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan glaciers and snow packs. The cause is attributed to rising air temperatures that are more pronounced in elevated regions, a combined warming effect of greenhouse gases and the Asian Brown Cloud. Also depositionDeposition (Aerosol physics)In aerosol physics, Deposition is the process by which aerosol particles collect or deposit themselves on solid surfaces, decreasing the concentration of the particles in the air. It can be divided into two sub-processes: dry and wet deposition. The rate of deposition, or the deposition velocity,...
of black carbonBlack carbonIn Climatology, black carbon or BC is a climate forcing agent formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass, and is emitted in both anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. It consists of pure carbon in several linked forms...
decreases the reflectionAlbedoAlbedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...
and exacerbates the retreat. Asian glacial melting could lead to water shortages and floods for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream. - Decrease of crop harvests. Elevated concentrations of surface ozoneSmogSmog is a type of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine...
is likely to affect crop yields negatively. The impact is crop specific.
Cyclone Intensity in Arabian Sea
A 2011 study found that pollution is making Arabian SeaArabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
cyclones more intense as the atmospheric brown clouds has been producing weakening wind patterns which prevent wind shear patterns that historically have prohibited cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms. This phenomena was found responsible for the formation of stronger storms in 2007
Cyclone Gonu
Cyclone Gonu is the strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, and is also the strongest named cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean...
and 2010
Cyclone Jal
Severe Cyclonic Storm Jal , also known as Cyclone Jal, is the fifth named cyclonic storm and the fourth Severe Cyclonic Storm of the 2010 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Jal developed from a low pressure area in the South China Sea that organized into a Tropical Depression on . Jal is a Sanskrit...
that were the first recorded storms to enter the Gulf of Oman
Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman is a strait that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It is generally included as a branch of the Persian Gulf, not as an arm of the Arabian Sea. On the north coast is Pakistan and Iran...
.
Global warming and dimming
The 2008 report also addressed the global concern of warmingGlobal warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
and concluded that the brown clouds have masked 20 to 80 percent of greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
forcing in the past century. The report suggested that air pollution regulations can have large amplifying effects on global warming.
Another major impact is on the polar ice caps. Black carbon
Black carbon
In Climatology, black carbon or BC is a climate forcing agent formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass, and is emitted in both anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. It consists of pure carbon in several linked forms...
(soot
Soot
Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...
) in the Asian Brown Cloud may be reflecting sunlight and dimming Earth below but it is warming other places by absorbing incoming radiation and warming the atmosphere and whatever it touches. Black carbon is three times more effective than carbon dioxide—the most common greenhouse gas—at melting polar ice and snow. Black carbon in snow causes about three times the temperature change as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. On snow —even at concentrations below five parts per billion— dark carbon triggers melting, and may be responsible for as much as 94 percent of Arctic warming. As a result arctic sea ice cover is shrinking year-round, with more ice melting in the spring and summer months and less ice forming in the fall and winter. Arctic sea ice melted over the summer of 2010 to cover the third smallest area on record. The extent of Arctic ice is dropping at something like 11 percent per decade—very quickly, in other words. Mark Serreze claims that by September 2030, or so, the Arctic probably won't have any ice at all. It will look like a blue ocean.
Further reading
- Silva-Send, Nilmini (2007) Preventing regional air pollution in Asia : the potential role of the European Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution in Asian regions University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, OCLC 262737812
External links
- Bray, Marianne (2002) "'Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat" CNN, from WebArchive