Warmer conditions in the Arctic may lead to severe clouds of pollution in many cities in Asia, including Beijing and Delhi. With climate change models prediction increased temperature increases in the Arctic this will have wide reaching impact on human health in Asia.
Chuanfeng Zhao at Beijing Normal University in China and his team have investigated this link between these changes in the Arctic and worsening air pollution. Starting with 1980 they examined monthly average temperature of the Arctic with atmospheric aerosol levels of the northern hemisphere’s mid-latitude regions. They found a relationship between aerosol concentrations in east Asia and north India and warm summers in the Arctic. Made from very fine particles, these smogs are much worse in the winter when more fuel is required for heating and winter weather tends to have patterns which are less likely to disperse the smog.
This study might help governments to prepare better for those bad winters.
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