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Abstract

Rainfall has a large impact on how life functions on earth and this, in turn, has great implications for both the ecosystem and human well-being. The research presented in this video investigates the ways in which the pollution of the air system affects the working of clouds and how they produce rain. By measuring the aerosol particles in clouds in specific areas, MEINRAT O. ANDREAE explains, the research team discovered that in clean, unpolluted areas clouds were shallow and transparent and rainfall was gentle; this was in marked contrast to very polluted regions where clouds appeared almost like solid surfaces. When they grew high, they produced very violent rainfall with hail, thunder and lightning. These strong differences in cloud and rainfall formation – based on aerosol concentration – show that the pollution of the atmosphere through human emissions has had and will have strong consequences for earth’s climate.