Скачать или смотреть Asian pollution affecting global climate, says study

A study by scientists from Texas, California and Washington state has found that pollution from Asia, much of it originating in China, is causing more intense cyclones, increased precipitation and more warm air in the mid-Pacific moving towards the north pole.

Researchers also say that this could be the cause of recent intense winter weather in North America. Results from the decade-long research project were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The scientists used advanced computer models to study interactions between clouds and fine airborne particles known as aerosols. Particular focus was placed on man made aerosols, such as those emitted from vehicles and coal-fired power plants. According to the scientists' research, air pollution from Asia directly affects the storm pattern over the Pacific Ocean.

These aerosols, which travel east, cause changes in storm patterns over the Pacific Ocean by causing clouds to grow denser, creating more intense storms over the water.

"The Pacific storm track is a major driving force over global weather patterns," according to the study's lead author Yuan Wang, a post-doctorate fellow at the NASA U.S. Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"The modulated storm track can be linked to abnormal weather behavior in the mid-latitudes of the Northern hemisphere, including U.S. and Canada."