South Asia’s Brown Cloud
The Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution that covers parts of the northern Indian Ocean, India, Pakistan, and parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Viewed from satellite photos, the Cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Quotes in New headlines:
The “Asian Brown Cloud,” a 2-mile-thick blanket of pollution over South Asia, may be causing the premature deaths of half a million people in India each year, deadly flooding in some areas and drought in others, a new U.N.-sponsored study indicates.
A UN-backed study released on Friday said the “Asian Brown Cloud” — a vast haze of pollution stretching across South Asia — is damaging agriculture, modifying rainfall patterns and endangering the population
Causes In some humidity conditions, a haze is formed. It is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants (e.g. woodfires, cars, and factories), characteristic of biomass burning and industrial emissions due to incomplete burning. The cloud is associated with winter monsoon (December to April) during which there is no rain to wash pollution from the air.
Although aerosol particles are generally associated with a global cooling effect, recent studies have shown that they can actually have a global warming effect in certain regions such as the Himalayas. The warming effect of the Asian Brown Cloud may be an important factor in the retreat of the Himalayan glaciers. The United Nations Environment Program is worried that Asian glacial melting could lead to water shortages and floods for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream. Additionally the Asian Brown Cloud is causing major health problems in people in areas where the Asian Brown Cloud is dominant.
What the governments of India and Pakistan are doing to stop it! Because human activity is the main cause of the Asian Brown Cloud, it is possible that behavioral changes might reduce its harmful effects. For example, much of the cloud comes from people burning wood and dung to cook their food. By converting to cleaner fuels, it may be possible to reduce the size of the cloud
Answer the following questions in Complete Sentences!
1. In your own words, what is the Asian Brown Cloud?
2. Who is it affecting?
3. How is it caused……in your own words.
4. What effects does the Asian Brown cloud have (use powerpoint)?
5. What is being done to stop it?
Water Pollution in South Asia (the Ganges and Yangtze in Particular)
Ganges River-INDIA
Located in India and used by Hindus as a holy river. Used daily for bathing and dumping waste, and used to irrigate agriculture.
Causes of Water Pollution
The major polluting industries on the Ganges are the leather industries, especially near Kanpur, which use large amounts of Chromium and other chemicals, and much of it finds its way into the slow flow of the Ganges. Unfortunately, leather processing in India is booming, so this pollution will probably continue
However, industry is not the only source of pollution. Sheer volume of waste - estimated at nearly 1 billion liters per day - of mostly untreated raw sewage - is a significant factor. Also, inadequate burial procedures contributes to a large number of partially burnt or unburned corpses floating down the Ganges, not to mention livestock (animal) corpses.
What is being done by India to stop the pollution The Ganges Action Plan has been set up under the Indian Government, and is attempting to build a number of waste treatment facilities. Surprisingly, the Hindu political parties in India are not very active in the efforts to clean up the Ganges because this means they would have to reduce its use for religious purposes.
Yangtze River-China
Large quantities of waste are being dumped every day into China's longest river and extremely negative consequences for its aquatic life, according to the first annual health report on the Yangtze River. This river which is world's third longest river has become real example of natural disaster, worsening of water quality and loss of biodiversity, as the Yangtze River Conservation and Development Report 2007 reports.
This study showed that one tenth of the river is already in critical condition. About 30 % of river's major tributaries are heavily polluted by massive quantities of toxins like ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorous and other pollutants which are causing significantly smaller fish catch. Annual harvest of fish products dropped from 500 000 tons in the 1950s to about 100 000 tons in 1990s. Fishermen are even afraid to eat fish when they manage to catch some because of heavy pollution. In last year alone 26 billion tons of waste was dumped into the river!
Answer in COMPLETE SENTENCES.
1. What causes water pollution?
2. How do they affect people?
3. What is being done to stop the pollution by India and Pakistan?