POLLUTION CLOUD IS SOMETIMES A MILE HIGH
The "Asian Express," created over the last decade by massive industrialization, is a mile thick blanket of brown air that hovers over huge areas of south Asia. In addition to the health hazards created locally, the dirty haze is exported across the Pacific. One study showed ozone levels reaching California from across the Pacific to be 30% higher than levels detected in 1985. The sooty Asian Express makes L.A. smog look like an happy impressionist painting by comparison.
In the spring, prevailing winds gather dust in Central China and blow it east. The dust acts as a sponge, gathering pollution from East Asia's thick blanket of smog.
The particulate stew
is believed by scientists to be a major contributor to climate change. Through a series of effects that are still poorly understood, the brown cloud is thought to be responsible for drought and flooding.
