Radiative forcing of atmospheric brown clouds over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

Atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) are a dense and extensive pollution layer and have significant implications on air quality, agriculture, water cycle, and regional climate. The objective of the present study is to observe seasonal and spatial variations in the occurrence of ABCs and its radiative effects. The Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) is the most populated region of India, which is an extended region in the foothills of the Himalayas. The IGP is one of the ABCs hotspots over the globe. The frequency of ABCs occurrences and radiative forcing were calculated using data from seven ground-based remote sensors situated across the IGP. We have used total ~ 5000 days of Level-2 aerosol measurements from seven AERosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) stations (Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur, New Delhi, Kanpur, Gandhi college and Dhaka University) for three seasons (Pre-monsoon, Post-monsoon, and Winter) during 2000-2019. An algorithm based on the optical properties of aerosols is used to defined extreme pollution events (ABCs days) for each site. Our results show more frequent occurrences of ABCs over the region in the pre-monsoon out of all three seasons. However, spatial variation is found in all seasons, like maximum frequency of ABCs over western IGP region in post-monsoon and minimum is at eastern IGP region in the winter season. Further, we have used the Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model to calculate radiative forcing during ABCs days on all sites of study. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) and absorption optical depth (AAOD) was used to calculate radiative forcing over the IGP region. Radiative forcing of ABCs is negative at both the surface (SRF) and top of the atmosphere (TOA), whereas it is positive in the atmosphere (ATM). In magnitude, it was found minimum in the pre-monsoon season at TOA. However, other seasons have specific features over specific locations, for example, in the winter season, radiative forcing is maximum over Kolkata at TOA, SRF, and ATM, which are -13.81 W/m², -50.90 W/m², and +37.09 W/m² respectively. In the pre-monsoon season, radiative forcing is maximum at Delhi (-9.59 W/m²) at TOA. In post-monsoon season radiative forcing maximum at Gandhi-college (-11.30 W/m²) at TOA. This ground observation is also compared with Modern Era Retrospective analysis and Research and Applications-2 (MEERA 2) modal data. These results indicate the cooling effect of ABCs at the surface and TOA over the IGP region throughout the period.