Atmospheric aerosols (a mixture of solid or liquid particles suspended in the air medium) are short-lived, with a residence time of about a week in the lower troposphere. Unlike the principal greenhouse gases, aerosols are more concentrated in the source regions and exhibit strong spatial and temporal variations.

Among several salt lakes in the Thar Desert of western India, the Sambhar is the largest lake producing about 2 9 105 tons of salt (NaCl) annually.