Influence of biomass burning on equatorial African rains

Abstract

BIOMASS burning affects the African continent all year round1-4. In the dry season there are widespread savannah fires, and there are always some domestic and agricultural fires. Here we present measurement of particulate black carbon, which is an unambiguous indicator of combustion, in rain waters collected at a remote site in the Northern Congo. We find that the rains contain pollutants from biomass burning, and are particularly affected during the Northern Hemisphere dry season. Our results show that biomass-burning smoke particles may act as cloud condensation nuclei, and might thereby play a part in cloud formation and hence precipitation in the tropics3. © 1991 Nature Publishing Group.