Atmospheric aerosol particles act as cloud condensation nuclei, affording them the ability to influence cloud microphysics, planetary albedo, and precipitation. Many field experiments, satellite remote sensing, and modeling studies have attempted to quantify the magnitude of aerosol-induced reduction in surface precipitation but with limited success; there is still no statistically robust evidence of a decrease in surface precipitation in association with pollution. We present a framework within which to study aerosol effects on precipitation, termed “precipitation susceptibility”. Models of varying complexity and satellite observations from NASA’s A-Train constellation of satellites are used to determine what controls the precipitation susceptibility of warm clouds to aerosol perturbations. Remarkable qualitative agreement between remote sensing observations and model predictions provides the first suggestions that certain regions of the Earth might be more vulnerable to pollution aerosol.