Aerosol pollution interferes with thunderstorm activity, radical weather could cause crop failures

Sunday, December 20, 2009 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: pollution, crop failures, health news

(NaturalNews) Scientists are finally making inroads into understanding the effect that aerosol particulate matter is having on the way storm clouds form. Recent research has revealed that the tiny pollutants can either inhibit thunderstorms or make them stronger depending on wind shear conditions.

Wind shear occurs when wind begins to change velocity and direction along a wind stream. It is involved in forming storms, tornados, and other weather phenomena. Planes and jets often experience turbulence when there are changes in wind shear.

When wind shear conditions are strong, aerosol pollution impedes the formation of thunderhead clouds. When wind shear is weak, the pollutants actually increase thunderhead development and cause storms to be stronger.

The interaction between aerosol pollution and the formation of clouds has long been a mystery to scientists and climatologists. Current research suggests that the microscopic, man-made particles may be severely altering the hydrological cycle. They may be limiting rainfall in some areas while increasing it in others.

Jiwen Fan and her team from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that wind shear plays the largest role in determining how aerosol pollution will affect cloud formation. Though it was believed in the past that humidity and other factors came into play, she and her team conducted computer models that verified the dominance of wind shear in determining how and when clouds form.

Their research strongly suggests that aerosol pollution may be directly altering local weather patterns, including the amount and rate of precipitation that occurs and the intensity of storms.

Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

What this research really reveals is that human activity alters the atmosphere (and the weather) regardless of whether CO2 is causing global warming. Particulate matter alone alters the weather and can multiply the severity of storms.

Most people have noticed that the weather around the world is becoming increasingly radical. Storms are stronger, droughts are longer and weather "extremes" are becoming far more common.

Why does this matter? Because people need food to survive, and radical weather plays havoc with the food supply. The more unpredictable the weather becomes, in fact, the more crop failures we'll see around the world.

This brings up the all-important issue of food security. Where will YOUR food come from if the national food supply you depend on suffers serious disruptions due to freak weather?

One analyst, by the way, says 2010 is the year of the global food crisis: http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/12/2010-f...

Sources for this story include:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-...