Main Culprit of Torrential Downpour Is ‘Solid Masses of Pollutant Cloud’

According to the research results published on August 12, in the South Asia, the principal of abnormal weather such as a heavy rain and drought is the solid masses of pollutant cloud of 3km in thickness.

United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said through the research report written by 200 meteorologists in the world “As the solid pollutant cloud called ‘Asian Brown Cloud’ blocks 10∼15% of the sunshine, the abnormal weather has occurred.”

Mixed with corpuscles of various pollutants such as ashes, fumes and acid, the clouds cool the earth and the surface of the seawater abnormally, but it heats up the air. The report analyzed that the pollution source was compositely formed due to a heating, wood fire and factory smoke.

Depending on the clouds, the properties of the rain cloud is changed and so the record rains fell in Bangladesh, Nepal and the northeast of India. Besides, in the northwest of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the west of China, the intense drought is continuing owing to an unbalance of the clouds. The rainfall of the year is estimated at the line of 40%. The analysis said that the latest localized torrential downpour of Korea is related this cloud.

The report said that ‘Brown Cloud’ damages the crops and brings the respiratory diseases to the residents by making an acid rain.

This report of UNEP will be officially published in ‘Earth Summit for the sustainable development’ held in the Republic of South Africa on August 26.

Jung-Ahn Kim credo@donga.com