"[The new study is] corroborating and buttressing what we've been doing in California."
While some governments have taken steps to limit so-called large-particle emissions, research by Rosenfeld, Woodley, and others is showing that even small particles like aerosols can affect weather both on local and global scales.
Earlier this week, a separate study linked Asian pollution with an increase in storm severity in the Pacific and—perhaps more importantly—changes in global air and heat circulation that may be linked to warming in the polar regions.
(Read the story: "Asia Pollution Changing World's Weather, Scientists Say" [March 6, 2007].)
Rosenfeld says all of the new studies represent a growing awareness of the effects of human activity on the global climate.
"Here we see there is much more than temperature change and rising sea levels," he said.
"By polluting the air and clouds we are likely changing our weather patterns and water resources."
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