Spatial variability and trend analysis of dust aerosols loading over Indian sub-continent using MERRA 2 & CALIPSO data

Abstract

This paper summarizes the spatial-temporal analysis of aerosol dust loading and aerosol dust extinction over the Indian subcontinent for identifying trends and patterns for a period of 40 years from 1980 to 2019. These analyses are based on the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data using Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2. The high-resolution data of CALIPSO indicate a high concentration of dust column mass density over the northwestern part of India. It increases from central India to Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir regions. Mean dust aerosol optical depth also suggests an increase in the dust loading over northwestern part of the country.