Challenges in Early Warning of the Persistent and Widespread Winter Fog over the Indo- Gangetic Plains: A Satellite Perspective - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 58

- Whether the ambient moisture in the IGP has increased over the years associated

with changes in frequency of cold waves or from local changes in irrigation
patterns; thus favoring more fog?

Against the background of changing climate scenario, these are some of the key
questions that need to be addressed and investigated, which are little known in sci-
entifi c published literature. Since Southern Asia ranks among the leading regions of
emissions (with the industrialization likely to grow in the future), the role of pollu-
tion particles, in infl uencing the extensive winter fog over the IGP, should be given
serious consideration and be further investigated in terms of the indirect effects of
aerosols (i.e., impacts on cloud microphysics), as well as with detailed studies of
their chemical composition.
State-of-the-art research into the linkages between the seasonal fog cover and
pollution in the form of intensive data collection observatories all along the Indo-
Gangetic Plains would help to better understand the physical and chemical compo-
sition of fog and haze particulates and other meteorological parameters. Here,
satellite data, especially from geostationary satellites, can also be useful in monitor-
ing and mapping the formation, evolution, and persistence of the winter fog.
Derivations of cause and effect relationships based on extensive observations can
thus aid in building sophisticated fog forecast/early warning models. These can sub-
sequently empower mitigation efforts and guide policymakers for devising decision-
making tools to tackle this environmental issue.

Acknowledgments MODIS and CERES science teams are acknowledged for provision of satel-
lite aerosol, cloud and radiation data products that were used in this chapter, as well as the surface
meteorological database. The author is grateful to Christina Hsu, NASA/GSFC, for useful sugges-
tions related to the satellite-based analysis of fog characterization.

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