RESUMEN
Short-term exposure to particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) are important risk factors for human health. Despite the awareness of reducing attributable health burden, region-specific and source-specific strategies remain less explored due to the gap between precursor emissions and health effects. In this study, we isolate the health burden of individual sector sources of PM2.5 and O3 precursors, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), across the globe. Specifically, we estimate mortalities attributable to short-term exposure using machine-learning-based daily exposure estimates and quantify sectoral impacts using chemical transport model simulations. Globally, short-term exposure to PM2.5 and O3 result in 713.5 (95% Confidence Interval: 598.8-843.3) thousand and 496.3 (371.3-646.1) thousand mortalities in 2019, respectively, of which 12.5% are contributed by fuel-related NOx emissions from transportation, energy, and industry. Sectoral impacts from anthropogenic NOx and VOC emissions on health burden vary significantly among seasons and regions, requiring a target shift from transportation in winter to industry in summer for East Asia, for instance. Emission control and health management are additionally complicated by unregulated natural influences during climatic events. Fire-sourced NOx and VOC emissions, respectively, contribute to 8.5 (95% CI: 6.2-11.7) thousand and 4.8 (3.6-5.9) thousand PM2.5 and O3 mortalities, particularly for tropics with high vulnerability to climate change. Additionally, biogenic VOC emissions during heatwaves contribute to 1.8 (95% CI: 1.5-2.2) thousand O3-introduced mortalities, posing challenges in urban planning for high-income regions, where biogenic contributions to health burden during heatwaves are 13% of anthropogenic contributions annually. Our study provides important implications for temporally dynamic and sector-targeted emission control and health management strategies, which are of urgency under the projection of continuously increasing energy consumption and changing climate.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos , Ozono , Material Particulado , Humanos , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales , Compuestos Orgánicos Volátiles , Óxidos de NitrógenoRESUMEN
Tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) poses a serious threat to the environmental quality and public health. Satellite NO2 observations have been continuously used to monitor NO2 variations and improve model performances. However, the accuracy of satellite NO2 retrieval depends on the knowledge of aerosol optical properties, in particular for urban agglomerations accompanied by significant changes in aerosol characteristics. In this study, we investigate the impacts of aerosol composition on tropospheric NO2 retrieval for an 18 year global data set from Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME)-series satellite sensors. With a focus on cloud-free scenes dominated by the presence of aerosols, individual aerosol composition affects the uncertainties of tropospheric NO2 columns through impacts on the aerosol loading amount, relative vertical distribution of aerosol and NO2, aerosol absorption properties, and surface albedo determination. Among aerosol compositions, secondary inorganic aerosol mostly dominates the NO2 uncertainty by up to 43.5% in urban agglomerations, while organic aerosols contribute significantly to the NO2 uncertainty by -8.9 to 37.3% during biomass burning seasons. The possible contrary influences from different aerosol species highlight the importance and complexity of aerosol correction on tropospheric NO2 retrieval and indicate the need for a full picture of aerosol properties. This is of particular importance for interpreting seasonal variations or long-term trends of tropospheric NO2 columns as well as for mitigating ozone and fine particulate matter pollution.
Asunto(s)
Aerosoles , Contaminantes Atmosféricos , Monitoreo del Ambiente , Dióxido de Nitrógeno , Estaciones del Año , Dióxido de Nitrógeno/análisis , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Ozono/análisisRESUMEN
Atmospheric ammonia has great environmental implications due to its important role in ecosystem and nitrogen cycle, as well as contribution to formation of secondary particles. China is recognized as a hotspot of NH3 pollution owing to agricultural and livestock intensification. In the quest to achieve a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric ammonia load and to quantify its environmental impacts in China, relying solely either on existing measurements or on model simulations falls short. Their limitations, either in spatial coverage and integrity or in data quality, fails to meet the needs. Available reanalysis products exhibit a marked deficiency in ammonia data. We therefore aim to propose an integrated ammonia reanalysis product in China, adeptly melding satellite observations from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) NH3 retrievals with chemical transport model simulation, capitalizing on the robust Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) data assimilation methodology. The product is validated in high quality via the comparison against independent measurements from ground monitoring stations. Spanning a decade from 2013 to 2022, our reanalysis uncovers not just the spatial intricacies of NH3 concentrations but also their temporal dynamics. Our findings pinpointed the spatial disparities in atmospheric ammonia intensities, highlighting regional hotspots in the NCP, SCB, and Northeast China, and identified annual and seasonal patterns. Our research provides crucial insights for shaping future NH3 pollution prevention and control strategies in China.