This "cloud" is caused by the pollutants from combustion, and mainly occurs during the months when rain does not fall in the area. The lack of rain in these months means that there is nothing stopping the pollution from forming this "cloud" in the sky. The Asian brown cloud affects the people that live below its health in serious ways. According to an environmental impact study done in India, two million people each year die from conditions associated with the brown cloud. The cloud also has incredible impact on the climate of this region. The cloud is now delaying the start of the rainy season, which gets rid of pollution in the sky, by several weeks (Dirty Clouds over Asia). It decreases crop harvests by elevating the concentration of surface ozone (CEEI News Home Page). The Asian brown cloud is masking greenhouse gas and is increasing the concern about global warming in both rural and urban India.
3. Water Pollution .
The largest reason that there is such large-scale pollution in the water sources in India is the untreated sewage that is being dumped there (Mauskar). In the river Ganges alone 200 liters a day of untreated sewage is being dumped. Not only are the numbers of sewage treatment plants inadequate to be able to handle India's amount of sewage, but the ones that are in operation are in need of maintenance and are not at the required level that they are required to be at. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) measures the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by organisms in a body of water to break down organic material. A BOD measurement of 0-2 indicates incredibly clean and healthy water, 3-8 is moderately clean, 9-20 is considered borderline water and a measurement of over 20 indicates that the water is ecologically unsafe polluted water (Biological Oxygen Demand). The four most polluted bodies of water in India rank at a 590, 364, 353, and 247 on this same scale (Mauskar).