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Pollution from Europe caused a drought in India that was one of its worst ever natural disasters, affecting more than 13 crore people, according to new research. Sulphur dioxide -produced mainly by coal-fired power plants causes a number of harmful effects, like acid rain, heart and lung diseases, and damage to plant growth. But sulphate aerosols also have a cooling effect on the atmosphere because it reflects sunlight back into space. However, emissions from the northern hemisphere can change the relative rate of warming in the south, causing the tropical rain-band to shift -with potentially devastating results. Now researchers at Imperial College London have calculated just how big an effect emissions of sulphur dioxide had on rainfall in India in 2000.