The increasing severity of droughts/floods and worsening air quality from increasing aerosols in Asia monsoon regions are the two gravest threats facing over 60% of the world population living in Asian monsoon regions. These dual threats have fueled a large body of research in the last decade on the roles of aerosols in impacting Asian monsoon weather and climate. This paper provides a comprehensive review of studies on Asian aerosols, monsoons, and their interactions. The Asian monsoon region is a primary source of emissions of diverse species of aerosols from both anthropogenic and natural origins. The distributions of aerosol loading are strongly influenced by distinct weather and climatic regimes, which are, in turn, modulated by aerosol effects. On a continental scale, aerosols reduce surface insolation and weaken the land-ocean thermal contrast, thus inhibiting the development of monsoons. Locally, aerosol radiative effects alter the thermodynamic stability and convective potential of the lower atmosphere leading to reduced temperatures, increased atmospheric stability, and weakened wind and atmospheric circulations. The atmospheric thermodynamic state, which determines the formation of clouds, convection, and precipitation, may also be altered by aerosols serving as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei. Absorbing aerosols such as black carbon and desert dust in Asian monsoon regions may also induce dynamical feedback processes, leading to a strengthening of the early monsoon and affecting the subsequent evolution of the monsoon. Many mechanisms have been put forth regarding how aerosols modulate the amplitude, frequency, intensity, and phase of different monsoon climate variables. A wide range of theoretical, observational, and modeling findings on the Asian monsoon, aerosols, and their interactions are synthesized. A new paradigm is proposed on investigating aerosol-monsoon interactions, in which natural aerosols such as desert dust, black carbon from biomass burning, and biogenic aerosols from vegetation are considered integral components of an intrinsic aerosol-monsoon climate system, subject to external forcing of global warming, anthropogenic aerosols, and land use and change. Future research on aerosol-monsoon interactions calls for an integrated approach and international collaborations based on long-term sustained observations, process measurements, and improved models, as well as using observations to constrain model simulations and projections.

Aerosols have significant and complex impacts on regional climate in East Asia. Cloud‐aerosol‐precipitation interactions (CAPI) remain most challenging in climate studies. The quantitative understanding of CAPI requires good knowledge of aerosols, ranging from their formation, composition, transport, and their radiative, hygroscopic, and microphysical properties. A comprehensive review is presented here centered on the CAPI based chiefly, but not limited to, publications in the special section named EAST‐AIRcpc concerning (1) observations of aerosol loading and properties, (2) relationships between aerosols and meteorological variables affecting CAPI, (3) mechanisms behind CAPI, and (4) quantification of CAPI and their impact on climate. Heavy aerosol loading in East Asia has significant radiative effects by reducing surface radiation, increasing the air temperature, and lowering the boundary layer height. A key factor is aerosol absorption, which is particularly strong in central China. This absorption can have a wide range of impacts such as creating an imbalance of aerosol radiative forcing at the top and bottom of the atmosphere, leading to inconsistent retrievals of cloud variables from space‐borne and ground‐based instruments. Aerosol radiative forcing can delay or suppress the initiation and development of convective clouds whose microphysics can be further altered by the microphysical effect of aerosols. For the same cloud thickness, the likelihood of precipitation is influenced by aerosols: suppressing light rain and enhancing heavy rain, delaying but intensifying thunderstorms, and reducing the onset of isolated showers in most parts of China. Rainfall has become more inhomogeneous and more extreme in the heavily polluted urban regions.

Observations of surface direct solar radiation (DSR) and visibility, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), together with the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) taken from Moderate‐Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer, were investigated to gain insight into the impact of aerosol pollution on surface solar radiation in China. The surface DSR decreased during 2004–2014 compared with 1993~2003 over eastern China, but no clear reduction was observed in remote regions with cleaner air. Significant correlations of visibility, PM2.5, and regionally averaged AOT with the surface DSR over eastern China indicate that aerosol pollution greatly affects the energy available at the surface. The net loss of surface solar radiation also reduces the surface ground temperature over eastern China. However, the slope of the linear variation of the radiation with respect to atmospheric visibility is distinctly different at different stations, implying that the main aerosol type varies regionally. The largest slope value occurs at Zhengzhou and indicates that the aerosol absorption in central China is the highest, and lower slope values suggest relatively weakly absorbing types of aerosols at other locations. The spatial distribution of the linear slopes agrees well with the geographical distribution of the absorbing aerosols derived from the Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations and Ozone Monitoring Instrument over China. The regional correlation between a larger slope value and higher absorbance properties of aerosols indicates that the net effects of aerosols on the surface solar energy and corresponding climatic effects are dependent on both aerosol amount and optical properties.

This study analyzes 15 years of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite data, together with surface observations of thunderstorms and visibility, to study trends and relationships between aerosols and thunderstorms in southeast China. TRMM data used are from the lightning imaging sensor (LIS) and the precipitation radar (PR). Surface data are human-observed thunderstorm occurrence and visibility for the period of 1990-2012 at 70 plain stations and 4 mountain stations. Thunderstorm and lightning activities, as well as PR echo top heights, have all increased significantly over the region during the period under study, while regional mean visibility has decreased greatly at the plain stations. The daily rainfall amount during thunderstorm days has increased significantly, but rainfall without thunderstorms has no trend during this period. In comparison, the four mountain weather stations at elevations greater than 1100 m showed little trend in the number of thunderstorm days during the period of 1990-2012. The ratio of the number of thunderstorm days between plain and mountain stations has increased significantly. The distinct trends seen between plain and mountain stations may originate from large differences in aerosol concentration between the plain and mountain regions. The accumulation of pollution aerosols in the plain region likely invigorates thunderstorms, whereas a lesser, or no, impact on intense convection is found over high-altitude regions.