Link Established Between Air Pollution and Cyclone Intensity in Arabian Sea

Pollution is making Arabian Sea cyclones more intense, according to a multi-institutional study that included scientists at UCSD's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Traditionally, prevailing wind shear patterns prohibit cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms. A paper appearing in the Nov. 3 issue of the journal Nature, however, suggests the weakening of the winds aloft has enabled the formation of stronger cyclones in recent years - including storms in 2007 and 2010 that were the first recorded storms ever to enter the Gulf of Oman. Caption: Genesis points (circles) and tracks (solid lines) are of pre-¬monsoon tropical cyclones during the period 1979-2010. Storms with an LMI >100 kt are indicated with a filled circle at the genesis point and thick track lines. The shaded contours represent annual long term mean fine mode aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from the MODIS Terra and Aqua instruments averaged over the period 2003-2009.