What caused record-breaking aerosol loading over the South China Sea in April 2023

Ravindra Babu, Saginela; Lin, Neng-Huei

doi:10.5194/acp-26-8961-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 12

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8961-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8961-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 12

Research article

|

25 Jun 2026

Research article |

| 25 Jun 2026

What caused record-breaking aerosol loading over the South China Sea in April 2023

Saginela Ravindra Babu and Neng-Huei Lin

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8961-2026-supplement

Data sets

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NASA https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/mod08.php

AIRS AIRS project https://doi.org/10.5067/UBENJB9D3T2H

Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) NASA https://asdc.larc.nasa.gov/project/MOPITT

Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications NASA https://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gmao-products/merra-2/data-access_merra-2/

The Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) NASA https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/

Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) NOAA https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/products

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Short summary

This study examines the record aerosol loading over the South China Sea in April 2023, using satellite data, trajectory analyses, and atmospheric reanalysis. It finds that intensified biomass burning in northern Peninsular Southeast Asia led to elevated aerosol levels, with anomalous atmospheric circulation boosting smoke transport and accumulation, resulting in severe transboundary pollution.