New research makes connection between weather system and human pollution

Zhanqing Li, an atmospheric and oceanic scientist at the University of Maryland, has published new findings that link Asia pollution to changes in global weather patterns (larger clouds and more intense storms).

Asia has seen much industrialization and population growth in recent decades with resultant large increases in pollution from the burning of coal and oil. Zhang and his team studied Asia's average cloudiness during recent years. They found that clouds increased in frequency by 20-50 percent, which correlates to an observed increase in soot, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants. Could these stronger storms be pushing heat and aerosols into the atmosphere and northward, affecting polar ice and sea levels? The scientists think so.

Research like this demonstrates how pollution in a region can affect weather in a major way and that humans are indeed capable of altering the planet's climate: Asia Pollution Changing World's Weather, Scientists Say