LONDON: Air pollution in China and other Asian countries is generating sweeping impact on weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, it has been revealed.

Researchers have found that the pollutants are strengthening storms above the Pacific Ocean, which feeds into weather systems in other parts of the world, the BBC News reported.

Lead author of the study Yuan Wang, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology said that the effects are quite dramatic and the pollution results in thicker and taller clouds and heavier precipitation.

Parts of Asia have some of the highest levels of air pollution in the world including Beijing and Delhi, where pollutants hazardously soar above those recommended by the World Health Organization.

Dr Wang said that the impacts of Asian pollution on the storm track tend to affect the weather patterns of other parts of the world during the wintertime, especially a downstream region like North America.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).