What caused the Asian Brown Cloud?

Asian brown cloud, a large atmospheric brown cloud that occurs annually from about November through May over eastern China and southern Asia. The Asian brown cloud is caused by large amounts of aerosols (such as soot and dust) produced in the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass across the region.

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Regarding this, what are the pollution sources that create the Asian Brown Cloud?

The Asian brown cloud is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants from combustion (e.g., woodfires, cars, and factories), biomass burning and industrial processes with incomplete burning.

Furthermore, what is the international community doing about the Asian Brown Cloud? A three-kilometre-thick “brown cloud” of man-made pollution, which stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China to the western Pacific Ocean, is making Asian cities darker, speeding up the melting of Himalayan glaciers and impacting human health, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Similarly, you may ask, why are the clouds Brown?

Atmospheric brown clouds are caused by emissions associated with the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. The brown colour of the clouds results from the absorption and scattering of solar radiation by black carbon, fly ash, soil dust particles, and nitrogen dioxide.

Why is polluted air reddish brown?

Nitrogen Oxides as Pollutants Nitrogen oxides are at least partially responsible for several types of air pollution. Nitrogen dioxide lends its color to the reddish-brown haze we call smog. Nitrogen dioxide in the air also reacts with water vapor to form nitric acid, one of the types of acid in acid rain.

26 Related Question Answers Found

What is brown air?

The brown air is actually a layer of atmospheric pollution made out of different harmful aerosols. This mainly happens due to the excessive air pollution and continuous deforestation.

What are the world's top five biggest polluting countries?

Top 5 most polluting countries

China (30%) The world's most populated country has an enormous export market, which has seen its industry grow to become a serious danger to the planet.
United States (15%) The world's biggest industrial and commercial power.
India (7%)
Russia (5%)
Japan (4%)

Why do some clouds look dirty?

Scientists have known for years that cloud formation is an extremely dirty business that depends on microscopic particles (aerosols) from the surface of the Earth. These particles allow water vapor to condense, and without them cloud droplets, mist, or fog could not form at all.

What is brown smog?

smog. The brown smog characteristic of Los Angeles and Denver in the late 20th cent. is caused by automobiles. Nitric oxide from automobile exhaust combines with oxygen in the air to form the brown gas nitrogen dioxide.

What is photochemical smoke?

Photochemical smog is a type of smog produced when ultraviolet light from the sun reacts with nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. It is visible as a brown haze, and is most prominent during the morning and afternoon, especially in densely populated, warm cities.

What is the purpose of the Clean Air Act?

The Clean Air Act of 1970 is a U.S. federal law intended to reduce air pollution and protect air quality.

What is photochemical smog and where is it usually found?

Photochemical smog, as found for example in Los Angeles, is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes.

Why are there few or no clouds in the stratosphere?

The stratosphere is very dry; air there contains little water vapor. Because of this, few clouds are found in this layer; almost all clouds occur in the lower, more humid troposphere. Due to the lack of vertical convection in the stratosphere, materials that get into the stratosphere can stay there for long times.

What is the brown cloud over Denver?

The brown cloud over Denver comes mostly from vehicles, which emit nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and benzene. Some days, these noxious chemicals dissipate, whisked away by prevailing westerly winds. Other days, pollution hangs in the air.

Why is India always hazy?

While industrial pollution and dust can contribute to the haze, most of it comes from crop-burning—especially in the states of Punjab and Haryana, where rice and wheat are widely grown.

What air pollutants causes a reddish brown haze in the sky?

The correct answer is nitrogen dioxide. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxied are invisible to the naked eye but are poisonous.

What contributes to China's air pollution problems?

The causes of Beijing's widespread air pollution can be attributed to a number of factors: an enormous economic boom, a surge in the number of motorized vehicles, population growth, output from manufacturing, and natural reasons which include the city's surrounding topography and seasonal weather.

What air pollution means?

In an even broader sense, air pollution means the presence of chemicals or compounds in the air which are usually not present and which lower the quality of the air or cause detrimental changes to the quality of life (such as the damaging of the ozone layer or causing global warming).

How do nitrogen oxides form?

Nitrogen oxides are produced in combustion processes, partly from nitrogen compounds in the fuel, but mostly by direct combination of atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen in flames. Nitrogen oxides are produced naturally by lightning, and also, to a small extent, by microbial processes in soils.

What does nitrogen oxides do to the atmosphere?

Nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide are referred to together as oxides of nitrogen (NOx). NOx gases react to form smog and acid rain as well as being central to the formation of fine particles (PM) and ground level ozone, both of which are associated with adverse health effects..

What does nitrogen dioxide look like?

At higher temperatures it is a reddish-brown gas that has a characteristic sharp, biting odor and is a prominent air pollutant. Nitrogen dioxide is a paramagnetic, bent molecule with C_2v point group symmetry.

What are nitrogen oxides used for?

Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide react with substances in the atmosphere to form acid rain. Nitrogen dioxide is used to produce rocket fuels and explosives. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, and during combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste.