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[PacificEdge <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

AIR POLLUTION BLAMED FOR DROUGHT
Tiny atmospheric particles originating in the Northern Hemisphere may be responsible for a catastrophic drought in the Sahel region of Africa, according to Australian researcher Leon Rotstayn.

Sulfate aerosol particles make cloud droplets smaller and clouds brighter and longer lasting; the clouds reflect more sunlight into space, cooling the earth's surface below, which causes the tropical rain belt to weaken, Rotstayn explains. The main impact has been in the Sahel in northern Africa, which experienced a 49% drop in rainfall in the second half of the twentieth century versus the first half.

"The Sahelian drought may be due to a combination of natural variability and atmospheric aerosol," says Rotstayn. "Cleaner air in the future will mean greater rainfall in this region."

Rotstayn is a member of the Model Development and Analysis team of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.
SOURCE: http://www.dar.csiro.au/profile/rotstayn.html


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Russ Grayson
Pacific Edge Media; TerraCircle regional development team
Sydney, Australia.