The idea that mankind collectively could be influencing global climate is still controversial among climate deniers, but this is not holding back global climate scientists who have now developed atmospheric computer models so precise that they now can identify air pollution in the form of aerosols from coal fired power plants and automobile traffic generated in Asia, even more specially in China as the cause of intensifying storm activity over the United States and North Pole.
Jonathan Kaiman, writing from Beijing for the Guardian in China's air pollution leading to more erratic climate for US, say scientists, describes research published Monday the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
China's air pollution could be intensifying storms over the Pacific Ocean and altering weather patterns in North America, according to scientists in the US. A team from Texas, California and Washington state has found that pollution from Asia, much of it arising in China, is leading to more intense cyclones, increased precipitation and more warm air in the mid-Pacific moving towards the north pole.
The authors used advanced computer models to study interactions between clouds and fine airborne particles known as aerosols, particularly manmade ones such as those emitted from vehicles and coal-fired power plants.
"Mid-latitude storms develop off Asia and they track across the Pacific, coming in to the west coast of the US," said Ellie Highwood, a climate physicist at the University of Reading. "The particles in this model are affecting how strong those storms are, how dense the clouds are, and how much rainfall comes out of those storms."
Kaiman tells us 71 of 74 cities monitored by China's central government filed to meet it air quality standards.
Chinese leaders say they aware of the problem and are raising the priority of environmental legislation and planning give their environmental authorities the power to shut down factories and punish officials responsible for pollution.
China is going to have to do a lot more than make dramatic public relations announcements to deal with their rampant nearly uncontrolled pollution and CO2 emissions crises. Kaimen's article goes on to describe courts unresponsive to citizen's legitimate complaints. And arresting local party official is a bogus response, when China's national industrial policies approved of by its top national leaders calls for building additional coal fired plants.
China already has the world largest solar industry which it should expand along with a tremendous expansion of wind generation so it can start shutting down coaled fire electric generation power plants. Only then will we know China's leadership is serous about resolving these crises of both pollution generation and CO2 emission.
China is not alone in this culpability all leaders and citizens of developed and developing nations have received an urgent, last chance wake up call from the recent IPCC reports on global warming which is accelerating more rapidly than previously feared. We have a short window of opportunity to make radical reduction to our emissions for CO2 which will largely mean a reduction of burning fossil fuels and most importantly coal.
We do not have much time yet. The consequences of inaction are severe and much more painful and costly. This kind of meaningless status quo response can no longer be acceptable.