Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future
Aerosol pollution is anticipated to decrease in the future, yet the associated effects of reduced aerosol loading on precipitation remain insufficiently explored. Widespread reductions in anthropogenic emission during COVID-19 lockdowns offer a unique opportunity to understand precipitation response...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adac7d |
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| author | Fan Wang Meng Gao |
| author_facet | Fan Wang Meng Gao |
| author_sort | Fan Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aerosol pollution is anticipated to decrease in the future, yet the associated effects of reduced aerosol loading on precipitation remain insufficiently explored. Widespread reductions in anthropogenic emission during COVID-19 lockdowns offer a unique opportunity to understand precipitation responses to changes in anthropogenic aerosols. Based on observations and regional and global climate-chemistry coupled model simulations, we attribute unprecedented precipitation in India during the 2021 lockdown to decreased aerosol levels due to emission reductions. Reduced aerosol loading leads to a northward shift of the subtropical westerly jet, which induces a westward movement of the subtropical southern branch trough and negative sea-level pressure anomalies over the eastern Arabian Sea. This shift facilitates water vapor transport from surrounding oceans to land, increasing precipitation in India by approximately 24.2% in May according to the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry simulations and by 28.5% over the entire lockdown period according to the Community Earth System Model version 2.1.3 simulations. Future projections under the lower aerosol emission scenario indicate an additional enhancement in monsoon precipitation in India. Our findings highlight the complex interplay between aerosol emissions and hydrometeorological dynamics, with implications for understanding future precipitation changes and providing theoretical reference for water resource management. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-66e7e117ad614832abe016a65278d1a9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-66e7e117ad614832abe016a65278d1a92025-01-30T16:03:21ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262025-01-0120202403810.1088/1748-9326/adac7dReduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the futureFan Wang0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4637-7658Meng Gao1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8657-3541Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, 999077 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, People’s Republic of China; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University , Kowloon Tong, 999077 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, People’s Republic of China; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America; Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of AmericaAerosol pollution is anticipated to decrease in the future, yet the associated effects of reduced aerosol loading on precipitation remain insufficiently explored. Widespread reductions in anthropogenic emission during COVID-19 lockdowns offer a unique opportunity to understand precipitation responses to changes in anthropogenic aerosols. Based on observations and regional and global climate-chemistry coupled model simulations, we attribute unprecedented precipitation in India during the 2021 lockdown to decreased aerosol levels due to emission reductions. Reduced aerosol loading leads to a northward shift of the subtropical westerly jet, which induces a westward movement of the subtropical southern branch trough and negative sea-level pressure anomalies over the eastern Arabian Sea. This shift facilitates water vapor transport from surrounding oceans to land, increasing precipitation in India by approximately 24.2% in May according to the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry simulations and by 28.5% over the entire lockdown period according to the Community Earth System Model version 2.1.3 simulations. Future projections under the lower aerosol emission scenario indicate an additional enhancement in monsoon precipitation in India. Our findings highlight the complex interplay between aerosol emissions and hydrometeorological dynamics, with implications for understanding future precipitation changes and providing theoretical reference for water resource management.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adac7daerosolemission reductionprecipitationatmospheric circulationfuture projection |
| spellingShingle | Fan Wang Meng Gao Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future Environmental Research Letters aerosol emission reduction precipitation atmospheric circulation future projection |
| title | Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future |
| title_full | Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future |
| title_fullStr | Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future |
| title_short | Reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in India during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future |
| title_sort | reduced aerosols and intensified summertime rainfall in india during the pandemic suggest potentially more amplified precipitation in the future |
| topic | aerosol emission reduction precipitation atmospheric circulation future projection |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adac7d |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fanwang reducedaerosolsandintensifiedsummertimerainfallinindiaduringthepandemicsuggestpotentiallymoreamplifiedprecipitationinthefuture AT menggao reducedaerosolsandintensifiedsummertimerainfallinindiaduringthepandemicsuggestpotentiallymoreamplifiedprecipitationinthefuture |