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| Sunday, 18 August 2002 |
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Asian Brown Cloud : No cause for panic by Shanika Sriyananda Liyanage The Asian Brown Cloud which is a three-kilometre thick cloud filled with ash, acids, aerosols and other particles is stretching from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka. It has hit the headlines and people are panicking that yet another health hazard is about to strike. Sri Lankan meteorological, health and science experts say that Sri Lanka is not in immediate danger and that there is no need to panic, especially about acid rains. The Director, Meteorology Department, N.A. Amaradasa said that the cloud would not cause significant changes to Sri Lanka because of the unusual weather patterns prevailing. "Our climatic pattern is different from the other countries in the region. Countries like India, which have large populations and a vast number of vehicles which emit harmful fumes, and other countries in the region which experience forest fires will suffer a great impact from the cloud", he said. The Met Director said that the Department needed to carry out research to study more about the cloud to find out its connection with the prevailing climatic changes in the country. "There is no need to panic", he emphasised. The United Nations sponsored study which warned of the drastic impact on millions of human lives in the South Asian region due to the Brown Cloud, says that it is mainly the result of forest fires, the burning of agricultural wastes, and fossil fuel emissions from vehicles, industries and power stations and defective cookers. The study revealed however, that there would be a drop of 15 per cent in the degree of solar energy hitting the earth's surface. According to reports the Asian Brown Cloud will also lead to a sharp reduction of 40 per cent in rainfall over Northwest Pakistan, Afghanistan, Western China and Western Central Asia. The researchers warned of acid rain which damages crops and trees and causes increasing numbers of victims of respiratory diseases. Dr. Kapila Sooriarachchi, Director of the Respiratory Disease Control Unit of the Ministry of Health and Nutrition, said that there was a significant rise in asthma and tuberculosis cases in Sri Lanka. "But, we do not know the cause for the alarming rise in these diseases," he added. Over 8,427 asthma cases were reported in 2001 and for the first quarter of this year, nearly 2,000 cases have so far been reported. "However, respiratory diseases are on the increase annually mainly due to environmental pollution including dust and harmful fumes from vehicles", Dr. Sooriarachchi said.Dr. Sooriarachchi is of the view that the Asian Brown Cloud filled with pollutants may be one of the causes of more people becoming victims of respiratory diseases. " But, this has to be confirmed by a detailed scientific study", he pointed out. According to Dr. Chandana Jayaratne of the University of Colombo, the drought and the climatic changes prevailing in the country could be one consequence of the Asian Brown cloud. "This is not a new phenomenon. It was first sighted by airline pilots and it came into the limelight in 1999. However, compared to India, Pakistan and China, the impact would be much less for us", he said. "If there is any impact on Sri Lanka it will occur during the North East monsoon from December to April", he said. He also said that there might be a some acid rain during the North East monsoon but it would sweep away again with the South West monsoon. " This cloud will not make any significant short-term impact on Sri Lanka, especially with the country's prevailing weather patterns", Dr. Jayaratne said. Meanwhile, he stressed the need for the implementation of international guidelines to reduce the burning of firewood and harmful industrial and vehicle emissions as long-term remedies. |
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