Dust Accelerates the Life Cycle of High Clouds Unveiled Through Strongly-Constrained Meteorology

Dust and high cloud interactions are critical for climate change, primarily due to the dominant roles of high cloud in the greenhouse effect and the continental precipitation. Nonetheless, disentangling the specific impacts of dust from the overlying meteorology influence on high clouds presents great challenges. In this study, we construct a meteorological pattern that successfully reveal the intricate connection between high cloud distribution and atmospheric conditions. Through this strong bounded relationship, we find that dust exhibits notable controls over the facilitation or inhibition of ice particle growth contingent upon the prevailing meteorological fields. More dust can increase precipitation rate and shorten high cloud lifetime particularly under favorable meteorology. These findings underscore the crucial role of dust concentration in mitigating global warming for future climate change.