The Impact of Air Pollution on Clouds and Precipitation over Land and Ocean

This study aims to summarize the influence of air pollution on clouds and precipitation over the ocean and land. This paper summarizes global aerosol observation networks, including GAW and AERONET, as well as aerosol observation networks from various countries. Six typical regions, including North America, North Africa, South Africa, India, China, and the Indian Ocean, demonstrate aerosols’ seasonal and compositional variation patterns. This study also summarizes the impact of aerosols on the microphysical characteristics of stratiform clouds and precipitation mechanisms. The effect of aerosols on clouds varies across regions over land and ocean, and the impact of aerosols on the cloud water path differs significantly. Air pollution significantly affects precipitation by altering the microphysical properties of clouds, and this study is of great importance for understanding and predicting weather changes.