The Effects of Open and Domestic Biomass Burning Emissions on Regional and Transported PM2.5 and PM2.5-related Mortality in Africa
Abstract
Biomass burning (BB) emissions can degrade air quality on local, regional and global scales. Africa as the largest source of BB emissions, contributing ~55% of global BB emissions is experiencing rapid urbanization, population growth, and a growing economy. These factors are leading to increased demand for energy, clearing of forests for agriculture, urban development, and growing fossil fuel use which combined with poor waste management and an overall lack of environmental regulations, are leading to substantial air pollution. Despite the economic growth in Africa, many people still depend on domestic burning of wood, coal, dung, crop waste, and charcoal for household heating and cooking. The Global Burden of Disease estimates that household and ambient air pollution combined causes about 780,000 premature deaths per year; thus air pollution is the fifth leading risk factor for premature death on the African continent. Studies examining the impact of open and domestic BB emissions on air quality are limited across Africa, leading to uncertainties in their impact on human health. Here, we plan to use the global chemical transport model GEOS-Chem to quantify the effects of open and domestic biomass on air pollution and premature mortality on regional and continental scales. We designate five regions of Africa using the regions defined by the Global Burden of Disease: Northern, Southern, West, Central, and East Africa. We present GEOS-Chem chemical transport model simulations with BB turned on/off in each region to isolate the relative influence of regional emissions versus transport on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels across the continent. We then use the Global Burden of Disease approach and a newly updated concentration-response function from Burnett, et al. (2018) to estimate the PM2.5-attributable mortalities from local and transported air pollution in each of the designated regions. Ultimately, we identify which sources and regions contribute the most to air quality degradation and PM2.5-attributable mortality across the continent, thus, providing valuable information about which regions and sources may be best to target for future air-quality interventions.
We acknowledge the support from the national Science Foundation grant number NSF NSF-#1831013- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMGH016..09G
- Keywords:
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- 3390 Wildland fire model;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 0240 Public health;
- GEOHEALTH;
- 4322 Health impact;
- NATURAL HAZARDS;
- 4326 Exposure;
- NATURAL HAZARDS