Asia’s pollution triggers storms in the USA

A new study find a link between smog in China and the weather in North America.

Beijing is legendary for its pollution, but now a new study suggests that the poor air quality in Asia is affecting the weather elsewhere in the globe.The study, by researchers at Texas A&M University in the US, found that smog from Asia directly affects the weather in North America.It is already common knowledge that the weather around the world is linked, and what happens in one place can have a dramatic effect on the weather elsewhere in the globe.The same principle applies to pollution: it can have a far-reaching impact. A number of previous research papers have shown that the drought that struck West Africa in the 1980s was caused, at least in part, by the coal-burning factories in the USA and Europe.The pollution caused by these factories cooled the entire northern hemisphere, shifting the African monsoon southwards.This situation was reversed when the clean-air legislation was passed in the USA and Europe, allowing the air to clear, and the rain band to shift northwards once more.

Now researchers have determined a clear link between Asia’s pollution and the weather in North America, although how much of an effect there is remains unclear.

Storm systems from Asia usually track across the Pacific towards North America, but the smog pollution can affect this.Smog is comprised of various tiny particles, from sulfates and nitrates, to soot and soil dust. These particles could help clouds form.