Quantitative estimates of the vertical structure and the spatial gradients of aerosol extinction coefficients have been made from airborne lidar measurements across the coastline into offshore oceanic regions along the east and west coasts of India. The vertical structure revealed the presence of strong, elevated aerosol layers in the altitude region of ∼2−4 km, well above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Horizontal gradients also showed a vertical structure, being sharp with the e⁻¹ scaling distance (D_0H) as small as ∼150 km in the well-mixed regions mostly under the influence of local source effects. Above the ABL, where local effects are subdued, the gradients were much shallower (∼600–800 km); nevertheless, they were steep compared to the value of ∼1500−2500 km reported for columnar AOD during winter. The gradients of these elevated layers were steeper over the east coast of India than over the west coast. Near-simultaneous radio sonde (Vaisala, Inc., Finland) ascents made over the northern Bay of Bengal showed the presence of convectively unstable regions, first from surface to ∼750–1000 m and the other extending from 1750 to 3000 m separated by a stable region in between. These can act as a conduit for the advection of aerosols and favor the transport of continental aerosols in the higher levels (>2 km) into the oceans without entering the marine boundary layer below. Large spatial gradient in aerosol optical and hence radiative impacts between the coastal landmass and the adjacent oceans within a short distance of <300 km (even at an altitude of 3 km) during summer and the premonsoon is of significance to the regional climate.