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The article focuses on a study showing that human-made pollution from Asia, which is mainly soot and sulphate aerosols, is intensifying winter storm activity over the Pacific Ocean. Researcher Renyi Zhang and his colleagues used satellites to track pollution and clouds between 1984 and 2005. They noted that the increase in aerosol particles due to coal burning in China and India enhanced the cloud updraft to generate stronger thunderstorms. They also stressed that more intense Pacific storms can ultimately affect global circulation and increased transfer of heat and particles to the poles could exacerbate warming there.