The project Galactic Cold Cores has carried out Herschel photometric observations of interstellar clouds where Planck satellite survey has located cold and compact clumps. The sources represent different stages of cloud evolution from starless clumps to protostellar cores and are located in different Galactic environments. We examine this sample of 116 Herschel fields to estimate the submillimetre dust opacity and to look for variations that could be attributed to the evolutionary stage of the sources or to environmental factors, including the location within the Galaxy. The submillimetre dust opacity is derived from Herschel data and near-infrared observations of the reddening of background stars are converted to near-infrared optical depth. We investigate the systematic errors affecting these parameters and use modelling to make corrections for the expected biases. The ratio of 250{mu}m and J band opacities is correlated with the Galactic location and the star formation activity. Local variations in the ratio {tau}(250{mu}m)/{tau}(J) are searched using the correlation plots and maps of the opacity ratio. We find a median ratio of {tau}(250{mu}m)/{mu}(J)=(1.6+/-0.2)10^-3^, which is more than three times the mean value reported for the diffuse medium. Assuming an opacity spectral index {beta}=1.8 instead of {beta}=2.0, the value would be smaller by ~30%. No significant systematic variation is detected with Galactocentric distance or with Galactic height. Examination of the {tau}(250{mu}m)/{tau}(J) maps reveals half a dozen fields with clear indications of local increase of submillimetre opacity, up to {tau}(250{mu}m)/{tau}(J)~410^-3^, towards the densest clumps. These are all nearby fields with spatially resolved clumps of high column density. We interpret the increase in the far-infrared opacity as a sign of grain growth in the densest and coldest regions of interstellar clouds.

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/584/A93/table1 (List of Herschel fields)

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/584/A93/tablee1 (Herschel observation IDs and reference regions of extinction calculations)