亚洲空气污染使太平洋风暴得到增强
Air pollution in China and other Asian countries is having far-reaching impacts on weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, a study suggests.
研究显示，中国已经其他亚洲国家的空气污染对整个北半球的天气模式都具有深远影响。
Researchers have found that pollutants are strengthening storms above the Pacific Ocean, which feeds into weather systems in other parts of the world.
The effect was most pronounced（显著的） during the winter.
The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Lead author Yuan Wang, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, said: "The effects are quite dramatic. The pollution results in thicker and taller clouds and heavier precipitation."
Toxic atmosphere
Parts of Asia have some of the highest levels of air pollution in the world.
In China's capital, Beijing, pollutants frequently reach hazardous levels, while emissions in the Indian capital, Delhi, also regularly soar above those recommended by the World Health Organization.
This has dire consequences for the health of those living in these regions, but there is growing evidence that there are other impacts further afield.
To analyse this, researchers from the US and China used computer models to look at the effect of Asia's pollution on weather systems.
The team said that tiny polluting particles were blown towards the north Pacific where they interacted with water droplets in the air.
This, the researchers said, caused clouds to grow denser, resulting in more intense storms above the ocean.
Dr Yuan Wang said: "Since the Pacific storm track is an important component in the global general circulation, the impacts of Asian pollution on the storm track tend to affect the weather patterns of other parts of the world during the wintertime, especially a downstream region [of the track] like North America."