Asian brown cloud

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Asian Brown Cloud is a layer of air pollution covering parts of the northern Indian Ocean, India, Pakistan, and parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China.^[1] In proper humidity conditions it forms haze. It is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants, characteristic of biomass burning and industrial emissions due to incomplete burning.^[2] The cloud is associated with winter monsoon (December to April) during which there is no precipitation wash out of pollution.

This pollution layer was observed during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INODEX) intensive field observation in 1999. Subsequently the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been supporting a project called ABC (still ongoing in 2006).

[edit] References

1. ^ Srinivasan, J. et al. (2002) "Asian Brown Cloud – fact and fantasy" Current Science 83(5): pp.586-592;
2. ^ Taylor, David A. (Jan 2003) "The ABCs of haze." Environmental Health Perspectives 111(1 ): p.A21;

[edit] External links

• UNEP Impact Study of the "Asian Brown Cloud"
• A NASA article on the cloud ( with photo ).
• CNN article: "'Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat"