Study: Fires and More Polluting Air in West Africa

West Africa is changing rapidly. An explosively growing population, massive urbanization, and unregulated deforestation modify the composition of the atmosphere, thus affecting weather and climate. How exactly these emissions are changing the region in the long term is not clear. The EU-funded project DACCIWA coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) therefore studied the air over the coastal region of West Africa with the help of research aircraft and ground stations.

"The air over the coastal region of West Africa is a unique mixture of various trace gases, liquids, and particles," explains Professor Peter Knippertz of KIT's Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, who coordinates DACCIWA. The sources of these particles and gases are monsoon winds with sea salt from the south, Sahara winds with dust from the north, charcoal fires and burning rubbish in cities as well as power plants, ship traffic, oil rigs, and outdated engines. "At the same time, multi-layered cloud covers frequently form in the atmosphere and strongly influence local weather and climate." The composition of the particles in the air and what impacts they have on the formation and breakup of clouds has not yet been studied in detail. This information is not included in the weather and climate models presently used.

http://phys.org/news/2016-08-pollute-air-west-africa.html

Rini Sulaiman/Norwegian Embassy/CIFOR

#solar