Sulfate aerosols--fine particles generated from sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by power plants located primarily in the Northern Hemisphere--may alter rainfall patterns and contribute to drought thousands of miles away. This would help explain the devastating drought in the Sahel region of Africa, according to atmospheric scientists Leon Rotstayn of CSIRO Atmospheric Research in Aspendale, Victoria, Australia, and Ulrike Lohmann of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

URL: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2003/111-7/forum.html#farr