Lithometeors

Sand haze is haze caused by the suspension in the atmosphere of small sand or dust particles, raised from the ground prior to the time of observation by a sandstorm or dust storm (WMO, 1992).

Smoke is a suspension in the air of small particles produced by combustion (WMO, 2017).

Black carbon refers to the absorbing components of soot, often defined using elemental carbon and some condensed organics. Black carbon is an important part of the combustion product commonly referred to as soot. Black carbon in indoor environments is largely due to cooking with biofuels such as wood, dung and crop residue. Outdoors, it is due to fossil fuel combustion (diesel and coal), open biomass burning (associated with deforestation and crop residue burning), and cooking with biofuels (Ramanathan and Carmichael, 2008).

A dust storm is an ensemble of particles of dust or sand energetically lifted to great heights by a strong and turbulent wind (WMO, 2017).

Fog is a suspension of very small, usually microscopic water droplets in the air, reducing visibility at the Earth’s surface (WMO, 2017).

Haze is a suspension in the air of extremely small, dry particles invisible to the naked eye and sufficiently numerous to give the air an opalescent appearance (WMO, 2017).