Dynamics of Muddy Rain of 15 June 2018 in Nepal

• Main Authors: Ashok Kumar Pokharel, Tianli Xu, Xiaobo Liu, Binod Dawadi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: Atmosphere
• Subjects: thunderstorm; dust storm; muddy rain; transport; convection; buoyancy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/5/529

It has been revealed from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications MERRA analyses, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MODIS/Terra satellite imageries, Naval Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System NAAPS model outputs, Cloud –Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations CALIPSO imageries, Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory HYSPLIT model trajectories, atmospheric soundings, and observational records of dust emission that there were multiple dust storms in the far western parts of India from 12 to 15 June 2018 due to thunderstorms. This led to the lifting of the dust from the surface. The entry of dust into the upper air was caused by the generation of a significant amount of turbulent kinetic energy as a function of strong wind shear generated by the negative buoyancy of the cooled air aloft and the convective buoyancy in the lower planetary boundary layer. Elevated dust reached a significant vertical height and was advected towards the northern/northwestern/northeastern parts of India. In the meantime, this dust was carried by northwesterly winds associated with the jets in the upper level, which advected dust towards the skies over Nepal where rainfall was occurring at that time. Consequently, this led to the muddy rain in Nepal.