Contributions of anthropogenic and external natural forcings to climate changes over China based on CMIP5 model simulations

Based on observations and historical simulations from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP5) archive, the contributions of human activities(including greenhouse gases(GHGs), anthropogenic aerosols(AAs), and land use(LU)) and external natural forcings(Nat) to climate changes in China over the past 50 years were quantified. Both anthropogenic and external natural forcings account for 95%–99% of the observed temperature change from 1951–1975 to 1981–2005. In particular, the temperature changes induced by GHGs are approximately 2–3 times stronger than the observed changes, and AAs impose a significant cooling effect. The total external forcings can explain 65%–78% of the observed precipitation changes over the past 50 years, in which AAs and GHGs are the primary external forcings leading to the precipitation changes; in particular, AAs dominate the main spatial features of precipitation changes in eastern China. Human activities also dominate the long-term non-linear trends in observed temperature during the past several decades, and, in particular, GHGs, the primary warming contributor, have produced significant warming since the 1960 s. Compared to the long-term non-linear trends in observed precipitation, GHGs have largely caused the wetting changes in the arid-semiarid region since the 1970 s, whereas AAs have led to the drying changes in the humid-semihumid region; both LU and Nat can impose certain impacts on the long-term non-linear trends in precipitation. Using the optimal fingerprinting detection approach, the effects of human activities on the temperature changes can be detected and attributed in China, and the effect of GHGs can be clearly detected from the observations in humid-semihumid areas. However, the anthropogenic effects cannot be detected in the observed precipitation changes, which may be due to the uncertainties in the model simulations and to other issues. Although some results in this paper still need improvement due to uncertainties in the coupled models, this study is expected to provide the background and scientific basis for climate changes to conduct vulnerability and risk assessments of the ecological systems and water resources in the arid-semiarid region of China.     

Climate and Earth’s Energy Flows

Under equilibrium conditions, climate can be viewed in simple terms as the average energy pathways that incoming solar radiation takes before exiting the system in order to maintain overall energy balance. Similarly, future climate change will ultimately be determined by how the Earth’s energy balance and average energy pathways change in response to external radiative forcings, such as anthropogenic greenhouse gases, and internal redistributions. Here, we give an overview of climate research in the context of Earth’s energy flows and make the case for improved observations of total energy as a more physically robust metric of climate change than the commonly used surface temperature record.     

20世纪温度变化中自然变率和人为因素的影响:基于耦合气候模式的归因模拟

本文基于中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学国家重点实验室(LASG/IAP)发展的气候系统模式FGOALS_gl对近百年气温变化的模拟,讨论了自然变率和人为因素对20世纪全球变暖的相对贡献.数值试验结果表明,在自然和人为因子的共同强迫作用下,耦合模式能够合理再现20世纪全球平均气温随时间的演变;仅在自然因子作用下,模式不能再现1970年以后的全球变暖.自然因素对20世纪第一次变暖的作用是显著的,但温室气体是20世纪后期变暖的主要原因.在这一定性结论基础上,进一步对近百年变化中自然和人为因素的相对贡献做定量的归因分析,结果表明,除赤道中东太平洋和北大西洋外,人为因素对近百年的增暖起决定性作用.对全球、半球及大陆尺度而言,外强迫可以解释平均气温变化的70%以上,而内部变率贡献较小;但对于区域尺度而言,多数地区内部变率的贡献大于外强迫,区域尺度气温变化的机制较全球、半球尺度要复杂.对中国地区而言,20世纪早期的气温变化受自然变率影响,但20世纪后期的变暖主要是温室气体增加的结果.中国东部气温变化的空间分布表明,自然因素对近50年及近百年中国地区的变暖趋势贡献较小.在自然和人为因子共同作用下,模式能够再现近50年中国东部气温变化冬春两季增暖的特征、但没有模拟出夏季长江中下游地区及淮河流域的降温趋势;自然因子试验的结果表明,太阳活动对该区域的变冷有贡献,但模式无法再现该地区气温的季节变化特征.     

Quantifying anthropogenic influence on recent near-surface temperature change

We assess the extent to which observed large-scale changes in near-surface temperatures over the latter half of the twentieth century can be attributed to anthropogenic climate change as simulated by a range of climate models. The hypothesis that observed changes are entirely due to internal climate variability is rejected at a high confidence level independent of the climate model used to simulate either the anthropogenic signal or the internal variability. Where the relevant simulations are available, we also consider the alternative hypothesis that observed changes are due entirely to natural external influences, including solar variability and explosive volcanic activity. We allow for the possibility that feedback processes, other than those simulated by the models considered, may be amplifying the observed response to these natural influences by an unknown amount. Even allowing for this possibility, the hypothesis of no anthropogenic influence can be rejected at the 5% level in almost all cases. The influence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases emerges as a substantial contributor to recent observed climate change, with the estimated trend attributable to greenhouse forcing similar in magnitude to the total observed warming over the 20th century. Much greater uncertainty remains in the response to other external influences on climate, particularly the response to anthropogenic sulphate aerosols and to solar and volcanic forcing. Our results remain dependent on model-simulated signal patterns and internal variability, and would benefit considerably from a wider range of simulations, particularly of the responses to natural external forcing.     

Persistent, Widespread, and Strongly Absorbing Haze Over the Himalayan Foothills and the Indo-Gangetic Plains

We examine the impact of the Atmospheric Brown Clouds on the direct radiative forcing of the Himalayan foothills and the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) regions, home for over 500 million S. Asians. The NASA-Terra MODIS satellite data reveal an extensive layer of aerosols covering the entire IGP and Himalayan foothills region with seasonal mean AODs of about 0.4 to 0.5 in the visible wavelengths (0.55 micron), which fall among the largest seasonal mean dry season AODs for the tropics. We show new surface data which reveal the presence of strongly absorbing aerosols that lead to a large reduction in solar radiation fluxes at the surface during the October to May period. The three-year mean (2001 to 2003) October to May seasonal and diurnal average reduction in surface solar radiation for the IGP region is about 32 (±5) W m⁻² (about 10% of TOA insolation or 20% of surface insolation). The forcing efficiency (forcing per unit optical depth) is as large as −27% (note that the forcing is negative) of top-of-atmosphere (TOA) solar insolation, and exceeds the forcing efficiency that has been observed for other polluted regions in America, Africa, East Asia, and Europe. General circulation model sensitivity studies suggest that both the local and remote influence of the aerosol induced radiative forcing is to strengthen the lower atmosphere inversion, stabilize the boundary layer, amplify the climatological tendency for a drier troposphere, and decrease evaporation. These aerosol-induced changes could potentially increase the life times of aerosols, make them more persistent, and decrease their single scattering albedos, thus potentially leading to a detrimental positive feedback between aerosol concentrations, aerosol forcing, and aerosol persistence. In addition, both the model studies and observations of pan evaporation suggest that the reduction in surface solar radiation may have led to a reduction in surface evaporation of moisture. These results suggest the vulnerability of this vital region to air pollution related direct and indirect (through climate changes) impacts on agricultural productivity of the region.     

Possible traces of solar activity effect on the surface air temperature of Turkey

In this study we investigate the effects of solar activity on the surface air temperature of Turkey. This enables us to understand existence of solar activity effects on the temperature. We used surface air temperature, pressure and tropospheric absorbing aerosol data as climate parameters and solar flare index data as solar activity indicator. We considered the parameters temperature and flare index data for the period data ranging from the beginning of January 1976 to the end of December 2006, which cover almost three solar cycles, 21st, 22nd and 23rd. However, only the period interval starting from January 1980 up to December 2005 includes the tropospheric absorbing aerosol data. We found a significant correlation between solar activity and surface air temperature for only cycle 23. We applied multitaper method to obtain the cyclic behavior of surface air temperature data sets. The most pronounced power peaks were found by this transform to be present at 1.2 and 2.5 years, which were reported earlier for some solar activity indicators. We concluded that solar activity effect exists on surface air temperature of Turkey; besides changes of greenhouse gases and tropospheric absorbing aerosols concentration have also a dominant effect on the surface air temperature of Turkey.     

Humid Little Ice Age in arid central Asia documented by Bosten Lake, Xinjiang, China

Short sediment cores retrieved from Bosten Lake, the largest inland freshwater lake in China, were used to explore humidity and precipitation variations in arid central Asia during the past millennium. The chronology of the cores was established using 137Cs, 210Pb and AMS 14C dating re- sults. Multi-proxy high-resolution analysis, including pollen ratios of Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae (A/C), carbonate content and grain size, indicates that the climate during the past millennium can be divided into three stages: a dry climate between 1000―1500 AD, a humid climate during the Little Ice Age (LIA) (c. 1500―1900 AD), and a warm dry period after 1900 AD. On centennial timescales, the climate change in northwestern China during the past 1000 years is characterized by oscillations between warm-dry and cold-humid climate conditions. All the proxies changed significantly and indi- cate increased precipitation during the LIA, including increased pollen A/C ratios and pollen concen- trations, decreased carbonate content and increased grain size. The humid period during the LIA re- corded by the Bosten Lake sediments is representative of arid central Asia and is supported by nu- merous records from other sites. During the LIA, the water runoff into the Keriya River and Tarim River in the Tarim Basin increased, while the ice accumulation in the Guliya ice core increased. Additionally, the lake levels of the Aral and Caspian Sea also rose, while tree-ring analysis indicates that precipita- tion increased. We hypothesize that both the lower temperature within China and the negative anomalies of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during this period may have contributed to the humid climate within this area during LIA.     

Solar Influence on Global and Regional Climates

The literature relevant to how solar variability influences climate is vast—but much has been based on inadequate statistics and non-robust procedures. The common pitfalls are outlined in this review. The best estimates of the solar influence on the global mean air surface temperature show relatively small effects, compared with the response to anthropogenic changes (and broadly in line with their respective radiative forcings). However, the situation is more interesting when one looks at regional and season variations around the global means. In particular, recent research indicates that winters in Eurasia may have some dependence on the Sun, with more cold winters occurring when the solar activity is low. Advances in modelling “top-down” mechanisms, whereby stratospheric changes influence the underlying troposphere, offer promising explanations of the observed phenomena. In contrast, the suggested modulation of low-altitude clouds by galactic cosmic rays provides an increasingly inadequate explanation of observations.     

On the effect of emissions from aircraft engines on the state of the atmosphere

Emissions from aircraft engines include carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrogen oxides, sulphur components and various other gases and particles. Such emissions from high-flying global civil subsonic air traffic may cause anthropogenic climate changes by an increase of ozone and cloudiness in the upper troposphere, and by an enhanced greenhouse effect. The absolute emissions by air traffic are small (a few percent of the total) compared to surface emissions. However, the greenhouse effect of emitted water and of nitrogen oxides at cruise altitude is potentially large compared to that of the same emissions near the earth’s surface because of relatively large residence times at flight altitudes, low background concentrations, low temperature, and large radiative efficiency. Model computations indicate that emission of nitrogen oxides has doubled the background concentration in the upper troposphere between 40○N and 60○N. Models also indicate that this causes an increase of ozone by about 5-20%. Regionally, the observed annual mean change in cloudiness is 0.4%. It is estimated that the resultant greenhouse effect of changes in ozone and thin cirrus cloud cover causes a climatic surface temperature change of 0.01-0.1 K. These temperature changes are small compared to the natural variability. Recent research indicates that the emissions at cruise altitude may increase the amount of stratospheric aerosols and polar stratospheric clouds and thereby have an impact on the atmospheric environment. Air traffic is increasing about 5-6% per year, fuel consumption by about 3%, hence the effects of the related emissions are expected to grow. This paper surveys the state of knowledge and describes several results from recent and ongoing research.     

中国不同排放情景下人为气溶胶的气候效应

本文利用区域气候模式RIEMS2.0(Regional Integrated Environmental Model System)和2006年以及2020年三种排放情景下的排放资料,研究了2006年气候背景下的人为气溶胶的浓度分布特征及辐射效应,估算了未来不同排放情景下人为气溶胶的主要成分硫酸盐、硝酸盐、黑碳、有机碳(含二次有机碳)的综合气候效应.结果表明:(1)2006年中国地区人为气溶胶浓度硫酸盐>有机碳>硝酸盐>黑碳,其区域柱浓度平均值分别为6.0、4.0、1.3和0.3 mg/m².(2)2006年硫酸盐、硝酸盐、有机碳和黑碳的平均辐射强迫分别为-1.32、-0.60、-0.40和0.28 W/m².硫酸盐、硝酸盐和有机碳的负辐射强迫超过黑碳的正辐射强迫,人为气溶胶总辐射强迫为-1.96 W/m².(3)人为气溶胶的辐射效应及引起的地面气温变化对排放源非常敏感,未来采取不同排放政策导致的人为气溶胶的含量及辐射效应有较大差异.在未来排放增加的情景下,各区域的气溶胶浓度、辐射强迫、气温下降幅度和降水减少幅度也相应加大.     

小冰期气候变化主控因子的模拟试验

小冰期是距今最近,特征最明显的寒冷气候事件,对于研究世纪尺度气候变化具有重要意义. 过去的研究结果认为,太阳活动和火山活动的变化是小冰期气候变化的主要原因. 本文应用AGCM SSiB模式分别试验了植被、太阳辐射和火山活动变化对小冰期温度、降水的影响,发现下垫面植被变化对小冰期温度变化影响的量级与太阳辐射和火山活动变化的作用相当,对降水的影响甚至超过太阳活动和火山活动变化的作用,说明对于世纪尺度的气候变化而言,下垫面植被的反馈作用不可忽略. 这对于深入理解小冰期气候变化的机理具有启迪作用,同时也为世纪尺度气候变化研究与气候情景预测提供了新的思路和方法.     

Solar cycle length hypothesis appears to support the ipcc on global warming

Since the discovery of a striking correlation between 1-2-2-2-1 filtered solar cycle lengths and the 11-year running average of northern hemisphere land air temperatures, there have been widespread speculations as to whether these findings would rule out any significant contributions to global warming from the enhanced concentrations of greenhouse gases. The solar hypothesis (as we shall term this assumption) claims that solar activity causes a significant component of the global mean temperature to vary in phase opposite to the filtered solar cycle lengths. In an earlier article we have demonstrated that for data covering the period 1860–1980 the solar hypothesis does not rule out any significant contribution from man-made greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols. The present analysis goes a step further. We analyse the period 1579–1987 and find that the solar hypothesis—instead of contradicting—appears to support the assumption of a significant warming due to human activities. We have tentatively corrected the historical northern hemisphere land air temperature anomalies by removing the assumed effects of human activities. These are represented by northern hemisphere land air temperature anomalies calculated as the contributions from man-made greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols by using an upwelling diffusion-energy balance model similar to the model of Wigley and Raper, 1993 employed in the Second Assessment Report of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It turns out that the agreement of the filtered solar cycle lengths with the corrected temperature anomalies is substantially better than with the historical anomalies, with the mean square deviation reduced by 36% for a climate sensitivity of 2.5°C, the central value of the IPCC assessment, and by 43% for the best-fit value of 1.7°C. Therefore our findings support a total reversal of the common assumption that a verification of the solar hypothesis would challenge the IPCC assessment of man-made global warming.     

Simulated effect of sunshade solar geoengineering on the global carbon cycle

Solar geoengineering has been proposed as a potential mechanism to counteract global warming. Here we use the University of Victoria Earth System Model (UVic) to simulate the effect of idealized sunshade geoengineering on the global carbon cycle. We conduct two simulations. The first is the A2 simulation, where the model is driven by prescribed emission scenario based on the SRES A2 CO₂ emission pathway. The second is the solar geoengineering simulation in which the model is driven by the A2 CO₂ emission scenario combined with sunshade solar geoengineering. In the model, solar geoengineering is represented by a spatially uniform reduction in solar insolation that is implemented at year 2020 to offset CO₂-induced global mean surface temperature change. Our results show that solar geoengineering increases global carbon uptake relative to A2, in particular CO₂ uptake by the terrestrial biosphere. The increase in land carbon uptake is mainly associated with increased net primary production (NPP) in the tropics in the geoengineering simulation, which prevents excess warming in tropics. By year 2100, solar geoengineering decreases A2-simulated atmospheric CO₂ by 110 ppm (12%) and causes a 60% (251 Pg C) increase in land carbon accumulation compared to A2. Solar geoengineering also prevents the reduction in ocean oxygen concentration caused by increased ocean temperatures and decreased ocean ventilation, but reduces global ocean NPP. Our results suggest that to fully access the climate effect of solar geoengineering, the response of the global carbon cycle should be taken into account.     

Characteristics of climate change in the “significant impact zone” affected by aerosols over eastern China in warm seasons

Through analysis of the distribution pattern and changing characteristics of atmospheric aerosols over the East Asia region during warm seasons in recent 20 a and beyond as well as their possible interac- tive relationship with a variety of meteorological elements, it is found that the high-value zone of aerosol optical depth derived from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), its significant negative correlation zones in terms of sunshine duration (SD) and surface air temperature (SAT) and its significant positive correlation zones with low-level cloud amount (LCC) are co-located in the South China region during warm periods. Based on this finding, the region is referred to as a "significant impact zone" (SI zone) affected by aerosols. Then, a comparative analysis is made on variation differ- ences of observed SAT, SD and LCC, etc. in different regions. It is also found that the LCC is increased and the SD is decreased within the "SI zone" over eastern China during the warm season. These characteristics are more evident than those beyond the zone, while the warming trend within the zone is evidently weaker than that outside it. Studies show that since recent 20 a, under the influence of aerosols, the LCC tend to increase substantially with a clear decrease of SD and an unnoticeable warming trend within the "SI zone". Comparing with the climate change beyond the zone, the difference is significant. Therefore, the effects of atmospheric aerosols on climate is possibly one of the contri- butions to the difference of climate change existed between the southern and northern parts of the Eastern China during a warm season.     

用全球大气环流模式嵌套区域气候模式模拟东亚现代气候

将区域气候模式RegCM2与中国科学院大气物理研究所的9层全球格点大气环流模式IAP AGCM单向嵌套,对东亚现代气候进行数值模拟研究,同时检验和分析该嵌套模式的性能.已完成的10年积分结果表明,单向嵌套RegCM2由于具有较高分辨率和较完善的物理过程,因此对地面气温和降水的空间分布形势和季节变化趋势都有较好的模拟能力,且较与之嵌套的IAP AGCM的模拟效果有较大改善,如在中国区域,它模拟的年均地面气温与实况的空间相关系数由全球环流模式的092提高到094,模拟的年均降水由05提高到07. 这与嵌套RegCM2能模拟出IAP AGCM所不能分辨的中尺度信号有很大关系.     

LONG-TERM VARIATIONS IN INSOLATION AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CLIMATE, THE LLN EXPERIMENTS

Used to test the Milankovitch theory over the last glacial-interglacial cycles, the Louvain-la-Neuve two-dimension Northern Hemisphere climate model shows that orbital and CO2 variations induce, in the climate system, feedbacks sufficient to generate the low frequency part of the climatic variations over the last 200 kyr. Initiation and termination of glacial cycles cannot indeed be explained without invoking both the fast feedbacks associated with atmospheric processes (water vapor, cloud, snow and sea ice) and the slower feedbacks associated with coupling to other parts of the climate system, in particular the land ice-sheet buildup and disintegration. This model shows that long-term changes in the Earth's orbital parameters lead to variations in the amount of solar radiation received at the top of the atmosphere, which in turn act as a pacemaker for climatic variations at the astronomical frequencies, through induced albedo-temperature and greenhouse gases-temperature feedbacks. Spectral analysis of the Northern Hemisphere global ice volume variations simulated under both insolation and CO2 forcings reproduces correctly the relative intensity of the peaks at the orbital frequencies as seen in SPECMAP data. Except for variations with time scales shorter than 5 kyr, the simulated long-term variations of total ice volume are comparable to that reconstructed from deep-sea cores. For example, the model simulates glacial maxima of similar amplitudes at 134 kyr BP and 15 kyr BP, followed by abrupt deglaciations.     

Characteristics of climate change in the “significant impact zone” affected by aerosols over eastern China in warm seasons

Through analysis of the distribution pattern and changing characteristics of atmospheric aerosols over the East Asia region during warm seasons in recent 20 a and beyond as well as their possible interactive relationship with a variety of meteorological elements, it is found that the high-value zone of aerosol optical depth derived from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), its significant negative correlation zones in terms of sunshine duration (SD) and surface air temperature (SAT) and its significant positive correlation zones with low-level cloud amount (LCC) are co-located in the South China region during warm periods. Based on this finding, the region is referred to as a “significant impact zone” (SI zone) affected by aerosols. Then, a comparative analysis is made on variation differences of observed SAT, SD and LCC, etc. in different regions. It is also found that the LCC is increased and the SD is decreased within the “SI zone” over eastern China during the warm season. These characteristics are more evident than those beyond the zone, while the warming trend within the zone is evidently weaker than that outside it. Studies show that since recent 20 a, under the influence of aerosols, the LCC tend to increase substantially with a clear decrease of SD and an unnoticeable warming trend within the “SI zone”. Comparing with the climate change beyond the zone, the difference is significant. Therefore, the effects of atmospheric aerosols on climate is possibly one of the contributions to the difference of climate change existed between the southern and northern parts of the Eastern China during a warm season. Supported by the International Sci-Tech Cooperative Project under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No. 2004DFA06100)     

全球变暖背景下东亚气候变化的最新情景预测

在最新的SRES A2和B2温室气体排放情景下,利用国际上7个气候模式针对未来全球变暖的数值模拟结果,本文着重分析了东亚区域气候21世纪的变化趋势. 研究揭示：中国大陆年均表面气温升高过程与全球同步,但增幅在东北、西部和华中地区较大,且表现出明显的年际变化;全球年均表面气温增幅纬向上大体呈带状分布,两极地区最为明显,并在北极地区达到最大;此外,21世纪后半段北半球高纬度地区的年平均强升温幅度主要来自于冬季增温. 在21世纪前50年,温室气体含量的增加除在一定程度上会增加青藏高原大部分夏季降水量外,不会对中国大陆其余地区的年、季节平均降水量产生较大影响;但持续的温室气体含量增加将最终导致大陆降水量几乎是全域性的增加.     

Asymmetry of weathering‐limited hillslopes: the importance of diurnal covariation in solar insolation and temperature

Hillslope asymmetry, i.e. variation in hillslope form as a function of slope aspect and/or mean solar insolation, has been documented in many climates and geologic contexts. Such patterns have the potential to help us better understand the hydrologic, ecologic, and geomorphologic processes and feedbacks operating on hillslopes. Here we document asymmetry in the fraction of hillslope relief accommodated by cliffs in weathering‐limited hillslopes of drainage basins incised into the East Kaibab Monocline (northern Arizona) and Raplee Ridge Monocline (southern Utah) of the southern Colorado Plateau. We document that south‐ and west‐facing hillslopes have a larger proportion of hillslope relief accommodated by cliffs compared with north‐ and east‐facing hillslopes. Cliff abundance correlates positively with mean solar insolation and, by inference, negatively with soil/rock moisture. Solar insolation control of hillslope asymmetry is an incomplete explanation, however, because it cannot account for the fact that the greatest asymmetry occurs between southwest‐ and northeast‐facing hillslopes rather than between south‐ and north‐facing hillslopes in the study sites. Modeling results suggest that southwest‐facing hillslopes are more cliff‐dominated than southeast‐facing hillslopes of the same mean solar insolation in part because potential evapotranspiration rates, which control the soil/rock moisture that drives weathering, are controlled by the product of solar insolation and a nonlinear function of surface temperature, together with the fact that southwest‐facing hillslopes receive peak solar insolation during warmer times of day compared with southeast‐facing hillslopes. The dependence of water availability on both solar insolation and surface temperature highlights the importance of the diurnal cycle in controlling water availability, and it provides a general explanation for the fact that vegetation cover tends to exhibit the greatest difference between northeast‐ and southwest‐facing hillslopes in the Northern Hemisphere and between southeast‐ and northwest‐facing hillslopes in the Southern Hemisphere. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advances in studying interactions between aerosols and monsoon in China

Scientific issues relevant to interactions between aerosols and the Asian monsoon climate were discussed and evaluated at the 33rd “Forum of Science and Technology Frontiers” sponsored by the Department of Earth Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Major results are summarized in this paper. The East Asian monsoon directly affects aerosol transport and provides a favorable background circulation for the occurrence and development of persistent fog-haze weather. Spatial features of aerosol transport and distribution are also influenced by the East Asian monsoon on seasonal, inter-annual, and decadal scales. High moisture levels in monsoon regions also affect aerosol optical and radiative properties. Observation analyses indicate that cloud physical properties and precipitation are significantly affected by aerosols in China with aerosols likely suppressing local light and moderate rainfall, and intensifying heavy rainfall in southeast coastal regions. However, the detailed mechanisms behind this pattern still need further exploration. The decadal variation in the East Asian monsoon strongly affects aerosol concentrations and their spatial patterns. The weakening monsoon circulation in recent decades has likely helped to increase regional aerosol concentrations. The substantial increase in Chinese air pollutants has likely decreased the temperature difference between land and sea, which favors intensification of the weakening monsoon circulation. Constructive suggestions regarding future studies on aerosols and monsoons were proposed in this forum and key uncertain issues were also discussed.