Vertical Dependency of Aerosol Impacts on Local Scale Convective Precipitation

Aerosol effects on convective precipitation is critical for understanding human impacts on extreme weather and the hydrological cycle. However, even their signs and magnitude remain debatable. In particular, aerosol effects on vertical structure of precipitation have not been systematically examined yet. Combining 6‐year space‐borne and ground‐based observations over the North China Plain, we show a boomerang‐shape aerosol effect on the top height of convective precipitation, from invigoration to suppression. Further analyses reveal that the aerosols play distinct effects on precipitation rate at different layers. Particularly, near surface precipitation rate shows no significant responses to aerosol and precipitation‐top height due to strong evaporation. The competition of energy between released from condensation and freezing and absorbed by evaporation contributes to different responses of precipitation‐top height to aerosol and can explain the boomerang‐shape aerosol effect. Plain Language Summary Aerosol particles in the atmosphere can alter precipitation efficiency and modulate the hydrological cycle, while their impacts on the cloud and precipitation vertical profiles remain poorly understood. Using 6‐year multi‐source observation data along with reanalysis meteorology, we find that aerosols exert distinct effects on precipitation rate at different layers. The observations show that aerosols enhance precipitation‐top height first and then suppress it under various dynamics and thermodynamics conditions, with a turning point at medium aerosol amount. In contrast, the response of near surface precipitation rate to aerosol perturbation is complex due to varying evaporation efficiency. These findings challenge the previous studies that suggested that the characteristics of cloud and precipitation at high altitude are closely correlated with precipitation rate near the surface. Key Points Observations show a boomerang‐shape aerosol effect on the top height of convective precipitation from invigoration to suppression Aerosols impose distinct effects on precipitation rate at different layers, with no significant impact near surface Energy change within conversion processes between hydrometeors and water vapor explains different responses of precipitation to aerosol