Does rain decrease air pollution?

Thomas here, the nerd behind Smart Air. I got into testing low-cost air purifiers and figuring out how pollution works while fighting through Beijing's smog. I'm not an expert in air pollution, just curious and a numbers guy. I've wondered whether rain decreases pollution too because I've noticed two things: 1. read more

The most obvious way that rain can reduce particulate pollution is to “wash” it out of the air. However, the researchers point out a less obvious way. Rain makes the ground wet, and that makes it harder for dust to get kicked up into the air again. read more

When I see those blue skies after rain, I’m probably confusing the effect of rain and the effect of the wind that comes with the rain. Strong winds can sharply reduce pollution in large polluted cities like Beijing and Delhi. read more

An international team of scientists has come up with either a surprising or unsurprising finding about whether air pollution increases or decreases rainfall. Their conclusion: a rather frustrating both, depending on local environmental conditions. read more