This study explores how smoke and volcanic ash particles, alter the way light is scattered in the atmosphere. By using a ground‑based HALO Doppler lidar system, we observed clear differences in the depolarization ratio, a shape-relevant optical parameter, between fresh smoke, aged smoke, and volcanic ash. These findings show that HALO Doppler lidars can help identify particle types in the air and even provide estimates of smoke mass concentrations, improving assessments of air quality.