Atmospheric Brown Clouds: Floating Continents of Pollution

Asian_Brown_Clouds_India
Giant pollution clouds over Bengal (Image: NASA/ Public Domain)
Pollution clouds the size of continents have hovered above our heads for years, heating the planet and killing thousands.

If you were viewing the Indian subcontinent from space, you’d notice a striking change in the image in the month of October. It’s when farmers burn up to 35 million tons of crops in Haryana and Punjab, creating a haze of smoke that – when combined with the effect of Diwali crackers – turns the air in the national capital into the most toxic it’s ever been. The view from Delhi would present the usual picture of smog-covered streets.

The view from space reveals a much larger canvas – much of Asia is blanketed by a thick cloud of smoke on an annual basis. Be it in India, Pakistan, China or the countries of South East Asia – we emit so much particulate matter into the air that a giant cloud of it forms for several months each year.

Known as the Asian Brown Cloud or Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC), it is a local effect of air pollution – with global consequences. ABC hotspots have been identified in East Asia, the Indo-Gangetic plains, Southeast Asia, Southern Afric and the Amazon basin.



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