India will spend Rs 200 crore over the next five years to study the impact of aerosols, particularly black carbon or soot, on climate change.
It will include increasing the number of observing stations from 36 to at least 60.
India already has a head start in the study of the impact of black carbon on global warming.
Speaking on the new program, Indian scientists said there are alarming levels of suspended soot particles in the atmosphere over India.
“We have found very high concentration of black carbon at heights of several km, which may impact even phenomena like the monsoons,” V Ramanathan, one of the global pioneers in the study of black carbon, said.