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Catastrophic Chinese Floods Triggered By Air Pollution

Posted by samzenpus on from the dirty-rain dept.

sciencehabit writes: The worst flooding to hit China in 50 years may have been caused by air pollution, according to a new study. Soot in particular contributed to the catastrophic flooding. It prevented rainclouds from forming over the Sichuan basin, which is surrounded by mountains that trap smoke billowing from its industrial centers, and is 'notorious' for its dirty air. That in turn lead to more intense rainfall in the mountains that evening, which eventually led to the massive flooding.

2 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. I am pretty sure the actual cause of the floods... by tlambert · · Score: 1, Funny

    I am pretty sure the actual cause of the floods... was water.

    Also, if they'd just let it float across the Pacific to California, like it used to, it'd solve a lot of problems for everyone.

  2. Re:Inversion layer by khallow · · Score: 3, Funny
    From the Wikipedia article:

    If the capping inversion layer or "cap" is too strong (too close to the surface), it will prevent thunderstorms from developing.

    Perhaps the soot is increasing the effect of the capping inversion? But I'm sure it's just more scientists so colossally ignorant that they failed to check Slashdot first.