Reductions in NO2 burden over north equatorial Africa from decline in biomass burning in spite of growing fossil fuel use, 2005 to 2017.

ABSTRACT: Socioeconomic development in low- and middle-income countries has been accompanied by increased emissions of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides [NOx: nitrogen dioxide (NO2) + nitric oxide (NO)], which affect human health. In sub-Saharan Africa, fossil fuel combustion has nearly doubled since 2000. At the same time, landscape biomass burning-another important NOx source-has declined in north equatorial Africa, attributed to changes in climate and anthropogenic fire management. Here, we use satellite observations of tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) and burned area to identify NO2 trends and drivers over Africa. Across the northern ecosystems where biomass burning occurs-home to hundreds of millions of people-mean annual tropospheric NO2 VCDs decreased by 4.5% from 2005

SUBMITTER: Hickman JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7896302 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature