The haze, or an atmospheric brown cloud hanging over major Asian cities including Delhi and Mumbai, essentially affects local conditions and can be swept away by a new weather system or winter rains as is often the case in the Capital. A day after the UNEP released a report pointing out that the haze could impact health and food supplies, experts feel that the phenomenon is not very new and its linkages to global warming are suspect. The brown cloud could remain suspended over cities for a while but could also dissipate just as quickly. R K Pachauri, chairman of the inter-governmental panel on climate change, said,