Aerosol act as tiny nuclei on which cloud droplets can form. In regions where aerosol concentrations are high, such as polluted parts of the northern hemisphere, the additional cloud droplets make clouds brighter. As a result, more solar energy is reflected back into space, lowering the temperature in polluted areas. Aerosol emissions are rising in parts of the developing world, so there is potential for further change to rainfall patterns,' he says. Climate models are complex, lengthy computer programs based upon the physical laws and equations of motion that govern the Earth's climate system.
Models reproduce the way in which the Earth's climate behaves.
The localised cooling effect of aerosol acts in a way that is opposite to likely warming caused by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. The findings on the potential impact of aerosol on rainfall patterns have just been published in the international journal, Geophysical Research Letters .