More pollution, Less Rainfall

Introduction

There is finally a resolution to the disputed issue of whether air pollution increases or decreases pollution. A team of scientists from Jerusalem and Germany said that with rising pollution, the amount of precipitation rises first, maxes out and then falls off sharply at very high aerosol concentrations. Beyond that point, increasing the aerosol load even reduces precipitation further. In areas with high atmospheric aerosol content, due to natural or manmade conditions, the continuation of those conditions can lead to lower than normal rainfall or even drought.

Source

Down To Earth, October 2008