Distinct effects of anthropogenic aerosols on tropical cyclones uri icon

abstract

  • Long-term observations have revealed large amplitude fluctuations in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones (TCs; refs), but the anthropogenic impacts, including greenhouse gases and particulate matter pollution, remain to be elucidated. Here, we show distinct aerosol effects on the development of TCs: the coupled microphysical and radiative effects of anthropogenic aerosols result in delayed development, weakened intensity and early dissipation, but an enlarged rainband and increased precipitation under polluted conditions. Our results imply that anthropogenic aerosols probably exhibit an opposite effect to that of greenhouse gases, highlighting the necessity of incorporating a realistic microphysical-radiative interaction of aerosols for accurate forecasting and climatic prediction of TCs in atmospheric models. 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

published proceedings

  • NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE

altmetric score

  • 35

author list (cited authors)

  • Wang, Y., Lee, K., Lin, Y., Levy, M., & Zhang, R.

citation count

  • 83

complete list of authors

  • Wang, Yuan||Lee, Keun-Hee||Lin, Yun||Levy, Misti||Zhang, Renyi

publication date

  • May 2014