Scientists say cleaner air may result in hotter weather and more intense monsoons

With air pollution dropping in many cities due to factory closures and fewer cars on the road, scientists say more sunlight will be able to reach the surface of the Earth, possibly resulting in hotter weather and stronger monsoons.

Climate scientist Laura Wilcox told The Guardian that aerosols, which stay in the atmosphere for one to two weeks, scatter and absorb radiation and make clouds more reflective. "With smaller amounts of aerosol in the atmosphere we will already be seeing more solar radiation reaching the surface, and thus potentially warmer surface temperatures in regions that usually have high levels of air pollution," she said.

Air pollution has plummeted as much as 60 percent in some areas, resulting in major achievements like the Himalayas being visible to some people in northern India for the first time in three decades. Computer simulations have shown that if air quality quickly improves, it will result in higher temperatures, and Wilcox's new research suggests that a reduction in air pollution in Asia will lead to stronger tropical monsoons, due to a larger contrast in temperature between the land and ocean, The Guardian reports.

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Wilcox said she will be watching India "very closely over the coming weeks. We would typically expect to see summer monsoon onset within the next four weeks, and would usually see both very hot temperatures and high aerosol levels ahead of monsoon onset."