Articles | Volume 25, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10443-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10443-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 15 Sep 2025
| 15 Sep 2025
Wildfires heat the middle troposphere over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau during the peak of fire season
Qiaomin Pei
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Institute of Carbon Neutrality, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Yikun Yang
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Annan Chen
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Zhiyuan Cong
School of ecology and environment, Tibet University, Lhasa 850000, China
State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Haotian Zhang
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Guangming Wu
National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China, Beijing 100085, China
Related authors
Qiaomin Pei, Chuanfeng Zhao, Xing Yan, Xingchuan Yang, Annan Chen, and Xin Wan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-689, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-689, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Using satellite observations from 2012 to 2024, we assessed global patterns of forest fire activity and smoke and examined how elevation influences these patterns. Fire occurrence has increased slightly and mainly produces fine particles. Fires are most frequent at low elevations, while smoke is greater at mid-elevations due to lifting and terrain transport. These findings show that topography strongly shapes fire impacts and improves wildfire risk and climate assessment.
Qiaomin Pei, Chuanfeng Zhao, Xing Yan, Xingchuan Yang, Annan Chen, and Xin Wan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-689, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-689, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
Using satellite observations from 2012 to 2024, we assessed global patterns of forest fire activity and smoke and examined how elevation influences these patterns. Fire occurrence has increased slightly and mainly produces fine particles. Fires are most frequent at low elevations, while smoke is greater at mid-elevations due to lifting and terrain transport. These findings show that topography strongly shapes fire impacts and improves wildfire risk and climate assessment.
Runzhuo Fang, Jinfeng Ding, Wenjuan Gao, Xi Liang, Zhuoqi Chen, Chuanfeng Zhao, Haijin Dai, and Lei Liu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 6049–6069, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-6049-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-6049-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Integrated Multi-source Polar Mesoscale Cyclone Tracks (IMPMCT) is a dataset containing a 24-year record (2001–2024) of polar storms in the Nordic Seas. These storms, called Polar Mesoscale Cyclones (PMCs), sometimes cause extreme winds and waves, threatening marine operations. IMPMCT combines remote sensing measurements and reanalysis data to construct a comprehensive PMCs archive. It includes 1110 PMCs tracks, 16 001 cloud patterns, and 4472 wind records, providing fundamental data for advancing our understanding of their development mechanisms.
Jingye Ren, Songjian Zou, Honghao Xu, Guiquan Liu, Zhe Wang, Anran Zhang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Min Hu, Dongjie Shang, Lizi Tang, Ru-Jin Huang, Yele Sun, and Fang Zhang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1483, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1483, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, a new framework of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) prediction in polluted region has been developed and it achieves well prediction of hourly-to-yearly scale across North China Plain. The study reveals a significant long-term decreasing trend of CCN concentration at typical supersaturations due to a rapid reduction in aerosol concentrations from 2014 to 2018. This improvement of our new model would be helpful to aerosols climate effect assessment in models.
Hongfei Hao, Kaicun Wang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Guocan Wu, and Jing Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3233–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3233-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3233-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we employed a machine learning technique to derive daily aerosol optical depth from hourly visibility observations collected at more than 5000 airports worldwide from 1959 to 2021 combined with reanalysis meteorological parameters.
Hao Fan, Xingchuan Yang, Chuanfeng Zhao, Yikun Yang, and Zhenyao Shen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7781–7798, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7781-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7781-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using 20-year multi-source data, this study shows pronounced regional and seasonal variations in fire activities and emissions. Seasonal variability of fires is larger with increasing latitude. The increase in temperature in the Northern Hemisphere's middle- and high-latitude forest regions was primarily responsible for the increase in fires and emissions, while the changes in fire occurrence in tropical regions were more influenced by the decrease in precipitation and relative humidity.
Lixing Shen, Chuanfeng Zhao, Xingchuan Yang, Yikun Yang, and Ping Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 419–439, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-419-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-419-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Using multi-year data, this study reveals the slump of sea land breeze (SLB) at Brisbane during mega fires and investigates the impact of fire-induced aerosols on SLB. Different aerosols have different impacts on sea wind (SW) and land wind (LW). Aerosols cause the decrease of SW, partially offset by the warming effect of black carbon (BC). The large-scale cooling effect of aerosols on sea surface temperature (SST) and the burst of BC contribute to the slump of LW.
Yue Sun and Chuanfeng Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16555–16574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16555-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16555-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Using high-resolution multi-year warm season data, the influence of aerosol on precipitation time over the North China Plain (NCP), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and Pearl River Delta (PRD) is investigated. Aerosol amount and type have significant influence on precipitation time: precipitation start time is advanced by 3 h in the NCP, delayed 2 h in the PRD, and negligibly changed in the YRD. Aerosol impact on precipitation is also influenced by precipitation type and meteorological conditions.
Karl Espen Yttri, Francesco Canonaco, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Markus Fiebig, Hans Gundersen, Anne-Gunn Hjellbrekke, Cathrine Lund Myhre, Stephen Matthew Platt, André S. H. Prévôt, David Simpson, Sverre Solberg, Jason Surratt, Kjetil Tørseth, Hilde Uggerud, Marit Vadset, Xin Wan, and Wenche Aas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7149–7170, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7149-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7149-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Carbonaceous aerosol sources and trends were studied at the Birkenes Observatory. A large decrease in elemental carbon (EC; 2001–2018) and a smaller decline in levoglucosan (2008–2018) suggest that organic carbon (OC)/EC from traffic/industry is decreasing, whereas the abatement of OC/EC from biomass burning has been less successful. Positive matrix factorization apportioned 72 % of EC to fossil fuel sources and 53 % (PM2.5) and 78 % (PM10–2.5) of OC to biogenic sources.
Tianmeng Chen, Zhanqing Li, Ralph A. Kahn, Chuanfeng Zhao, Daniel Rosenfeld, Jianping Guo, Wenchao Han, and Dandan Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6199–6220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A convective cloud identification process is developed using geostationary satellite data from Himawari-8.
Convective cloud fraction is generally larger before noon and smaller in the afternoon under polluted conditions, but megacities and complex topography can influence the pattern.
A robust relationship between convective cloud and aerosol loading is found. This pattern varies with terrain height and is modulated by varying thermodynamic, dynamical, and humidity conditions during the day.
Cited articles
Andreae, M. O.: Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burning – an updated assessment, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8523–8546, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8523-2019, 2019.
Bhardwaj, P., Naja, M., Kumar, R., and Chandola, H. C.: Seasonal, interannual, and long-term variabilities in biomass burning activity over South Asia, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 23, 4397–4410, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5629-6, 2016.
Bhattarai, H., Wu, G., Zheng, X., Zhu, H., Gao, S., Zhang, Y.-L., Widory, D., Ram, K., Chen, X., Wan, X., Pei, Q., Pan, Y., Kang, S., and Cong, Z.: Wildfire-Derived Nitrogen Aerosols Threaten the Fragile Ecosystem in Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, Environ. Sci. Technol., 57, 9243–9251, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c01541, 2023.
Chen, A., Zhao, C., Zhang, H., Yang, Y., and Li, J.: Surface albedo regulates aerosol direct climate effect, Nat. Commun., 15, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52255-z, 2024.
Chen, D.: Assessment of past, present and future environmental changes on the Tibetan Plateau (in Chinese with English abstract), Chin. Sci. Bull., 60, 3025–3035, https://doi.org/10.1360/N972014-01370, 2015.
Chen, A., Zhao, C., and Fan, T.: Spatio-temporal distribution of aerosol direct radiative forcing over mid-latitude regions in the Northern Hemisphere estimated from satellite observations, Atmos. Res., 266, 105938, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2021.105938, 2022.
Chen, X., Liu, Y., Ma, Y., Ma, W., Xu, X., Cheng, X., Li, L., Xu, X., and Wang, B.: TP-PROFILE: Monitoring the Thermodynamic Structure of the Troposphere over the Third Pole, Adv. Atmos. Sci., 41, 1264-1277, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-023-3199-y, 2024.
Cong, Z., Kang, S., Kawamura, K., Liu, B., Wan, X., Wang, Z., Gao, S., and Fu, P.: Carbonaceous aerosols on the south edge of the Tibetan Plateau: concentrations, seasonality and sources, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 1573–1584, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-1573-2015, 2015.
Dubovik, O., Smirnov, A., Holben, B. N., King, M. D., Kaufman, Y. J., Eck, T. F., and Slutsker, I.: Accuracy assessments of aerosol optical properties retrieved from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun and sky radiance measurements, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 9791–9806, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900040, 2000.
Dumka, U. C., Saheb, S. D., Kaskaoutis, D. G., Kant, Y., and Mitra, D.: Columnar aerosol characteristics and radiative forcing over the Doon Valley in the Shivalik range of northwestern Himalayas, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int., 23, 25467–25484, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7766-y, 2016.
Friedl M. and Sulla-Menashe D.: MCD12C1 MODIS/Terra+Aqua Land Cover Type Yearly L3 Global 0.05Deg CMG. NASA Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MCD12C1.006 (last access: 3 September 2025), 2015.
Holben, B. N., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Tanré, D., Buis, J. P., Setzer, A., Vermote, E., Reagan, J. A., Kaufman, Y. J., Nakajima, T., Lavenu, F., Jankowiak, I., and Smirnov, A.: AERONET – A Federated Instrument Network and Data Archive for Aerosol Characterization, Remote Sens. Environ., 66, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(98)00031-5, 1998.
Holben, B. N., Tanré, D., Smirnov, A., Eck, T. F., Slutsker, I., Abuhassan, N., Newcomb, W. W., Schafer, J. S., Chatenet, B., Lavenu, F., Kaufman, Y. J., Castle, J. V., Setzer, A., Markham, B., Clark, D., Frouin, R., Halthore, R., Karneli, A., O'Neill, N. T., Pietras, C., Pinker, R. T., Voss, K., and Zibordi, G.: An emerging ground-based aerosol climatology: Aerosol optical depth from AERONET, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 12067–12097, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD900014, 2001.
Immerzeel, W. W., van Beek, L. P. H., and Bierkens, M. F. P.: Climate Change Will Affect the Asian Water Towers, Science, 328, 1382–1385, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1183188, 2010.
IPCC: Summary for Policymakers, in: Synthesis Report, Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: Core Writing Team, H. Lee and Romero, J., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate, C., Geneva, Switzerland, 1–34, https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.001, 2023a.
IPCC: The Earth's Energy Budget, Climate Feedbacks and Climate Sensitivity, in: Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis: Working Group I Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate, C., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 923–1054, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157896.009, 2023b.
Kang, L., Huang, J., Chen, S., and Wang, X.: Long-term trends of dust events over Tibetan Plateau during 1961–2010, Atmos. Environ., 125, 188–198, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.10.085, 2016.
Kang, S., Zhang, Q., Qian, Y., Ji, Z., Li, C., Cong, Z., Zhang, Y., Guo, J., Du, W., Huang, J., You, Q., Panday, A. K., Rupakheti, M., Chen, D., Gustafsson, Ö., Thiemens, M. H., and Qin, D.: Linking atmospheric pollution to cryospheric change in the Third Pole region: current progress and future prospects, Nat. Sci. Rev., 6, 796–809, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwz031, 2019.
Kang, S., Zhang, Y., Qian, Y., and Wang, H.: A review of black carbon in snow and ice and its impact on the cryosphere, Earth-Sci. Rev., 210, 103346, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103346, 2020.
Kaskaoutis, D. G., Kumar, S., Sharma, D., Singh, R. P., Kharol, S. K., Sharma, M., Singh, A. K., Singh, S., Singh, A., and Singh, D.: Effects of crop residue burning on aerosol properties, plume characteristics, and long-range transport over northern India, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 5424–5444, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jd021357, 2014.
Kedia, S., Ramachandran, S., Kumar, A., and Sarin, M. M.: Spatiotemporal gradients in aerosol radiative forcing and heating rate over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea derived on the basis of optical, physical, and chemical properties, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 115, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013136, 2010.
Kim, M.-H., Omar, A. H., Tackett, J. L., Vaughan, M. A., Winker, D. M., Trepte, C. R., Hu, Y., Liu, Z., Poole, L. R., Pitts, M. C., Kar, J., and Magill, B. E.: The CALIPSO version 4 automated aerosol classification and lidar ratio selection algorithm, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6107–6135, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6107-2018, 2018.
Koren, I., Kaufman, Y. J., Remer, L. A., and Martins, J. V.: Measurement of the effect of Amazon smoke on inhibition of cloud formation, Science, 303, 1342–1345, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1089424, 2004.
Krishnan, R., Shrestha, A. B., Ren, G., Rajbhandari, R., Saeed, S., Sanjay, J., Syed, M. A., Vellore, R., Xu, Y., You, Q., and Ren, Y.: Unravelling Climate Change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Rapid Warming in the Mountains and Increasing Extremes, in: The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment: Mountains, Climate Change, Sustainability and People, edited by: Wester, P., Mishra, A., Mukherji, A., and Shrestha, A. B., Springer International Publishing, Cham, 57–97, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_3, 2019.
LANCEMODIS: MODIS/Aqua Terra Thermal Anomalies/Fire locations 1km FIRMS NRT (Vector data), MODAPS at NASA/GSFC: The Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) [data set], https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-data/near-real-time/firms/active-fire-data, (last access: 3 September 2025), 2021.
Lau, W. K. M. and Kim, K. M.: Impact of snow-darkening by deposition of light-absorbing aerosols on snow cover in the Himalaya-Tibetan-Plateau and influence on the Asian Summer monsoon: A possible mechanism for the Blanford Hypothesis, Atmosphere (Basel), 9, 438, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9110438, 2018.
Li, C., Bosch, C., Kang, S., Andersson, A., Chen, P., Zhang, Q., Cong, Z., Chen, B., Qin, D., and Gustafsson, Ö.: Sources of black carbon to the Himalayan–Tibetan Plateau glaciers, Nat. Commun., 7, 12574, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12574, 2016.
Li, F., Wan, X., Wang, H., Orsolini, Y. J., Cong, Z., Gao, Y., and Kang, S.: Arctic sea-ice loss intensifies aerosol transport to the Tibetan Plateau, Nat. Clim. Change, 10, 1037–1044, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0881-2, 2020.
Li, J., Carlson, B. E., Yung, Y. L., Lv, D., Hansen, J., Penner, J. E., Liao, H., Ramaswamy, V., Kahn, R. A., Zhang, P., Dubovik, O., Ding, A., Lacis, A. A., Zhang, L., and Dong, Y.: Scattering and absorbing aerosols in the climate system, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 3, 363–379, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00296-7, 2022.
Liu, Y.: Atmospheric response and feedback to radiative forcing from biomass burning in tropical South America, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 133, 40–53, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2005.03.011, 2005.
Liu, Z., Liu, D., Huang, J., Vaughan, M., Uno, I., Sugimoto, N., Kittaka, C., Trepte, C., Wang, Z., Hostetler, C., and Winker, D.: Airborne dust distributions over the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas derived from the first year of CALIPSO lidar observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 5045–5060, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-5045-2008, 2008.
Lu, Q., Liu, C., Zhao, D., Zeng, C., Li, J., Lu, C., Wang, J., and Zhu, B.: Atmospheric heating rate due to black carbon aerosols: Uncertainties and impact factors, Atmos. Res., 240, 104891, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.104891, 2020.
Lüthi, Z. L., Škerlak, B., Kim, S.-W., Lauer, A., Mues, A., Rupakheti, M., and Kang, S.: Atmospheric brown clouds reach the Tibetan Plateau by crossing the Himalayas, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6007–6021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6007-2015, 2015.
Ma Yaoming, C. X.: TP-PROFILE monitoring of the troposphere over the Tibetan Plateau (2021–2022), National Tibetan Plateau Data Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.11888/Atmos.tpdc.272995, 2024.
Menon, S., Hansen, J., Nazarenko, L., and Luo, Y.: Climate Effects of Black Carbon Aerosols in China and India, Science, 297, 2250–2253, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1075159, 2002.
Moorthy, K. K., Nair, V. S., Babu, S. S., and Satheesh, S. K.: Spatial and vertical heterogeneities in aerosol properties over oceanic regions around India: Implications for radiative forcing, Q. J. Roy. Meteorol. Soc., 135, 2131–2145, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.525, 2009.
NASA: AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH (V3) – SOLAR and AEROSOL INVERSIONS (V3), Goddard Space Flight Center, USA [data set], https://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (last access: 3 September 2025), 2016.
NASA: VIIRS (NOAA-21/JPSS-2) I Band 375 m Active Fire Product NRT (Vector data), NASA LANCE MODIS at the MODAPS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/FIRMS/MODIS/MCD14DL.NRT.0061, 2021.
NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC: CERES and GEO-Enhanced TOA, Within-Atmosphere and Surface Fluxes, Clouds and Aerosols Daily Terra-Aqua Edition4A [data set], https://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/data/, (last access: 3 September 2025), 2017.
Omar, A. H., Winker, D. M., Kittaka, C., Vaughan, M. A., Liu, Z. Y., Hu, Y. X., Trepte, C. R., Rogers, R. R., Ferrare, R. A., Lee, K. P., Kuehn, R. E., and Hostetler, C. A.: The CALIPSO Automated Aerosol Classification and Lidar Ratio Selection Algorithm, J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol., 26, 1994–2014, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009jtecha1231.1, 2009.
O'Neill, N. T., Eck, T. F., Smirnov, A., Holben, B. N., and Thulasiraman, S.: Spectral discrimination of coarse and fine mode optical depth, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002975, 2003.
Panicker, A. S., Pandithurai, G., Safai, P. D., Dipu, S., and Lee, D.-I.: On the contribution of black carbon to the composite aerosol radiative forcing over an urban environment, Atmos. Environ., 44, 3066–3070, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.04.047, 2010.
Pant, P., Hegde, P., Dumka, U. C., Sagar, R., Satheesh, S. K., Moorthy, K. K., Saha, A., and Srivastava, M. K.: Aerosol characteristics at a high-altitude location in central Himalayas: Optical properties and radiative forcing, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006768, 2006.
Paulot, F., Paynter, D., Ginoux, P., Naik, V., and Horowitz, L. W.: Changes in the aerosol direct radiative forcing from 2001 to 2015: observational constraints and regional mechanisms, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13265–13281, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13265-2018, 2018.
Pokharel, M., Guang, J., Liu, B., Kang, S., Ma, Y., Holben, B. N., Xia, X. a., Xin, J., Ram, K., Rupakheti, D., Wan, X., Wu, G., Bhattarai, H., Zhao, C., and Cong, Z.: Aerosol Properties Over Tibetan Plateau From a Decade of AERONET Measurements: Baseline, Types, and Influencing Factors, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 13357–13374, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jd031293, 2019.
Rai, M., Mahapatra, P. S., Gul, C., Kayastha, R. B., Panday, A. K., and Puppala, S. P.: Aerosol Radiative Forcing Estimation over a Remote High-altitude Location (∼4900 masl) near Yala Glacier, Nepal, Aerosol Air Qual. Res., 19, 1872–1891, https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2018.09.0342, 2019.
Ramachandran, S. and Rupakheti, M.: Inter-annual and seasonal variations in optical and physical characteristics of columnar aerosols over the Pokhara Valley in the Himalayan foothills, Atmos. Res., 248, 105254, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.105254, 2021.
Ramachandran, S., Rupakheti, M., and Lawrence, M. G.: Black carbon dominates the aerosol absorption over the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayan foothills, Environ. Int., 142, 105814, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105814, 2020.
Ramachandran, S., Rupakheti, M., Cherian, R., and Lawrence, M. G.: Aerosols heat up the Himalayan climate, Sci. Total Environ., 894, 164733, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164733, 2023.
Ramanathan, V., Crutzen, P. J., Kiehl, J. T., and Rosenfeld, D.: Atmosphere – Aerosols, climate, and the hydrological cycle, Science, 294, 2119–2124, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1064034, 2001a.
Ramanathan, V., Ramana, M. V., Roberts, G., Kim, D., Corrigan, C., Chung, C., and Winker, D.: Warming trends in Asia amplified by brown cloud solar absorption, Nature, 448, 575–578, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06019, 2007.
Ramanathan, V., Crutzen, P. J., Lelieveld, J., Mitra, A. P., Althausen, D., Anderson, J., Andreae, M. O., Cantrell, W., Cass, G. R., Chung, C. E., Clarke, A. D., Coakley, J. A., Collins, W. D., Conant, W. C., Dulac, F., Heintzenberg, J., Heymsfield, A. J., Holben, B., Howell, S., Hudson, J., Jayaraman, A., Kiehl, J. T., Krishnamurti, T. N., Lubin, D., McFarquhar, G., Novakov, T., Ogren, J. A., Podgorny, I. A., Prather, K., Priestley, K., Prospero, J. M., Quinn, P. K., Rajeev, K., Rasch, P., Rupert, S., Sadourny, R., Satheesh, S. K., Shaw, G. E., Sheridan, P., and Valero, F. P. J.: Indian Ocean Experiment: An integrated analysis of the climate forcing and effects of the great Indo-Asian haze, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 106, 28371–28398, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD900133, 2001b.
Ricchiazzi, P., Yang, S., Gautier, C., and Sowle, D.: SBDART: A Research and Teaching Software Tool for Plane-Parallel Radiative Transfer in the Earth's Atmosphere, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 79, 2101–2114, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079<2101:SARATS>2.0.CO;2, 1998.
Satheesh, S. K. and Ramanathan, V.: Large differences in tropical aerosol forcing at the top of the atmosphere and Earth's surface, Nature, 405, 60–63, https://doi.org/10.1038/35011039, 2000.
Stamnes, K., Tsay, S. C., and Laszlo, I.: DISORT, a General-Purpose Fortran Program for Discrete-Ordinate-Method Radiative Transfer in Scattering and Emitting Layered Media: Documentations of Methodology, NASA Technical Report Version 1.1, 6–112, https://www.libradtran.org/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=disortreport1.1.pdf (last access: 3 September 2025), 2000.
Stein, A. F., Draxler, R. R., Rolph, G. D., Stunder, B. J. B., Cohen, M. D., and Ngan, F.: NOAA's HYSPLIT Atmospheric Transport and Dispersion Modeling System, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 96, 2059–2077, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00110.1, 2015.
Stocker, M., Ladstädter, F., and Steiner, A. K.: Observing the climate impact of large wildfires on stratospheric temperature, Sci. Rep., 11, 22994, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02335-7, 2021.
Tian, P., Yu, Z., Cui, C., Huang, J., Kang, C., Shi, J., Cao, X., and Zhang, L.: Atmospheric aerosol size distribution impacts radiative effects over the Himalayas via modulating aerosol single-scattering albedo, npj Clim. Atmos. Sci., 6, 54, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00368-5, 2023.
Vadrevu, K. P., Ellicott, E., Giglio, L., Badarinath, K. V. S., Vermote, E., Justice, C., and Lau, W. K. M.: Vegetation fires in the himalayan region – Aerosol load, black carbon emissions and smoke plume heights, Atmos. Environ., 47, 241–251, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.11.009, 2012.
Venkataraman, C., Habib, G., Kadamba, D., Shrivastava, M., Leon, J. F., Crouzille, B., Boucher, O., and Streets, D. G.: Emissions from open biomass burning in India: Integrating the inventory approach with high-resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) active-fire and land cover data, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 20, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GB002547, 2006.
Wang, S., Zhao, W., Liu, Q., Zhou, J., Crumeyrolle, S., Xu, X., Zhang, C., Ye, C., Zheng, Y., Che, H., and Zhang, W.: Strong Aerosol Absorption and Its Radiative Effects in Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau, Geophys. Res. Lett., 51, e2023GL107833, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl107833, 2024.
Winker, D. M., Pelon, J., Coakley, J. A., Ackerman, S. A., Charlson, R. J., Colarco, P. R., Flamant, P. H., Fu, Q., Hoff, R. M., Kittaka, C., Kubar, T. L., Treut, H. L., McCormick, M. P., Mégie, G., Poole, L. R., Powell, K., Trepte, C. R., Vaughan, M. A., and Wielicki, B. A.: THE CALIPSO MISSION: A Global 3D View of Aerosols and Clouds, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 91, 1211–1229, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010BAMS3009.1, 2010.
Wu, G., Liu, Y., Wang, T., Wan, R., Liu, X., Li, W., Wang, Z., Zhang, Q., Duan, A., and Liang, X.: The Influence of Mechanical and Thermal Forcing by the Tibetan Plateau on Asian Climate, J. Hydrometeorol., 8, 770–789, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM609.1, 2007.
Wu, G., Wan, X., Gao, S., Fu, P., Yin, Y., Li, G., Zhang, G., Kang, S., Ram, K., and Cong, Z.: Humic-Like Substances (HULIS) in Aerosols of Central Tibetan Plateau (Nam Co, 4730 m asl): Abundance, Light Absorption Properties, and Sources, Environ. Sci. Technol., 52, 7203–7211, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b01251, 2018.
Yang, J., Ji, Z., Kang, S., and Tripathee, L.: Contribution of South Asian biomass burning to black carbon over the Tibetan Plateau and its climatic impact, Environ. Pollut., 270, 116195, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116195, 2021.
Yang, J., Kang, S., Hu, Y., Chen, X., and Rai, M.: Springtime biomass burning impacts air quality and climate over the Tibetan Plateau, Atmos. Environ., 313, 120068, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2023.120068, 2023.
Yang, X., Zhao, C., Yang, Y., Yan, X., and Fan, H.: Statistical aerosol properties associated with fire events from 2002 to 2019 and a case analysis in 2019 over Australia, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 3833–3853, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3833-2021, 2021.
Yao, T., Xue, Y., Chen, D., Chen, F., Thompson, L., Cui, P., Koike, T., Lau, W. K. M., Lettenmaier, D., Mosbrugger, V., Zhang, R., Xu, B., Dozier, J., Gillespie, T., Gu, Y., Kang, S., Piao, S., Sugimoto, S., Ueno, K., Wang, L., Wang, W., Zhang, F., Sheng, Y., Guo, W., Ailikun, Yang, X., Ma, Y., Shen, S. S. P., Su, Z., Chen, F., Liang, S., Liu, Y., Singh, V. P., Yang, K., Yang, D., Zhao, X., Qian, Y., Zhang, Y., and Li, Q.: Recent Third Pole's Rapid Warming Accompanies Cryospheric Melt and Water Cycle Intensification and Interactions between Monsoon and Environment: Multidisciplinary Approach with Observations, Modeling, and Analysis, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 100, 423–444, https://doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-17-0057.1, 2019.
Yao, T., Bolch, T., Chen, D., Gao, J., Immerzeel, W., Piao, S., Su, F., Thompson, L., Wada, Y., Wang, L., Wang, T., Wu, G., Xu, B., Yang, W., Zhang, G., and Zhao, P.: The imbalance of the Asian water tower, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 3, 618–632, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00299-4, 2022.
Yili, Z.: Integration dataset of Tibet Plateau boundary, National Tibetan Plateau Data Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.11888/Geogra.tpdc.270099, 2019.
You, C. and Xu, C.: Himalayan glaciers threatened by frequent wildfires, Nat. Geosci., 15, 956–957, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01076-0, 2022.
You, C., Yao, T., and Xu, C.: Recent Increases in Wildfires in the Himalayas and Surrounding Regions Detected in Central Tibetan Ice Core Records, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 123, 3285–3291, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jd027929, 2018.
Yu, P., Davis, S. M., Toon, O. B., Portmann, R. W., Bardeen, C. G., Barnes, J. E., Telg, H., Maloney, C., and Rosenlof, K. H.: Persistent Stratospheric Warming Due to 2019–2020 Australian Wildfire Smoke, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2021GL092609, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl092609, 2021.
Zhao, C. F., Yang, Y. K., Fan, H., Huang, J. P., Fu, Y. F., Zhang, X. Y., Kang, S. C., Cong, Z. Y., Letu, H., and Menenti, M.: Aerosol characteristics and impacts on weather and climate over the Tibetan Plateau, Nat. Sci. Rev., 7, 492-+, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwz184, 2020.
Zheng, C., Zhao, C., Zhu, Y., Wang, Y., Shi, X., Wu, X., Chen, T., Wu, F., and Qiu, Y.: Analysis of influential factors for the relationship between PM2.5 and AOD in Beijing, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13473–13489, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13473-2017, 2017.
Short summary
This study investigates the impact of smoke on atmospheric warming over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (HTP) using MODIS fire data, ground-based and satellite aerosol observations, and model simulations. It finds that smoke aerosols, predominantly concentrated between 6 and 8 km in the mid-troposphere over southern HTP, likely alter regional atmospheric stability by modifying the vertical temperature profile, as indicated by a reduced lapse rate.
This study investigates the impact of smoke on atmospheric warming over the Himalayas and...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint