I would not go to the extent of global desertification, because preventing rainfall in a particular region would leave the vapor in the air and that would eventually rain more elsewhere. So it is more likely that the increased pollution will cause more extreme weather, leading to more droughts in some places and more floods in others. |
Now I did the very first step, taking the clearest possible case, to tell us all: 'Hey, it is happening without any doubt. Now let's go in earnest to investigate that,' |
The effect of dust on cloud properties is to inhibit precipitation, |
The impact of pollution on these clouds is sufficiently strong to completely shut off precipitation from them. |
The reduction of precipitation from clouds affected by desert dust can cause drier soil, which in turn raises more dust, thus providing a possible feedback loop to further decrease precipitation. |
Unfortunately, my satellite measurements reveal that almost all pollution sources produce many small aerosols that work to reduce the size of the cloud droplets, thus the precipitation. |