Many recent papers have documented variations in aerosol loading, surface cooling and their possible relationships with rainfall in the monsoon regions of India and East Asia (Krishnan and Ramanathan, 2002; Devara et al., 2003; Cheng et al., 2005, Prasad et al., 2006; Nakajima et al., 2007; George et al., 2008; and many others). Modelling studies have suggested that aerosols in the atmosphere can affect the monsoon water cycle by altering the regional energy balance in the atmosphere and at the Earth’s surface and by modulating cloud and rain processes (Rosenfeld, 2000; Ramanathan et al., 2001; Li, 2004). However, depending on.
