Estimation of air quality degradation due to Saharan dust at Nouakchott, Mauritania, from horizontal visibility data

Ozer, Pierre; Laghdaf, Mohamed Béchir Ould Mohamed; Lemine, Sidi Ould Mohamed; Gassani, Jean

doi:10.1007/s11270-006-9152-8

Cited by 71 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…Many studies carried out in West Africa emphasise recent increases in desertification processes (e.g. Hountondji et al 2006;Ozer et al 2006). This strengthens the need to deepen our knowledge of dust impacts on health in this zone.…”

Section: Dust-health Relationship -Publication Datementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar definitions are sometimes used in studies classified in different categories. In all cases, dust events lead to particulate levels that exceed international level guidelines (Brunekreef and Forsberg 2005;Ozer et al 2006). Today, according to the WHO, the acceptable annual mean value of PM 10 is 20 μg m −3 and mean values over 24 h exceeding 50 μg m −3 are considered to exceed acceptable standards.…”

Section: Dust-health Relationship -Publication Datementioning

confidence: 99%

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Desert dust impacts on human health: an alarming worldwide reality and a need for studies in West Africa

et al. 2012

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High desert dust concentrations raise concerns about adverse health effects on human populations. Based on a systematic literature review, this paper aims to learn more about the relationship between desert dust and human health in the world and to analyse the place of West Africa as a study area of interest. Papers focussing on the potential relationship between dust and health and showing quantitative analyses, published between January 1999 and September 2011, were identified using the ISI Web of Knowledge database (N050). A number of adverse health effects, including respiratory, cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary diseases, are associated with dust. This survey highlights obvious dust impacts on human health independently of the study area, health outcomes and method. Moreover, it reveals an imbalance between the areas most exposed to dust and the areas most studied in terms of health effects. None of these studies has been conducted in West Africa, despite the proximity of the Sahara, which produces about half of the yearly global mineral dust. In view of the alarming results in many parts of the world (Asia, Europe, America), this paper concludes by stressing the importance of carrying out impact studies of Saharan dust in West Africa, where dust events are more frequent and intense than anywhere else.

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Section: Dust-health Relationship -Publication Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dust-health Relationship -Publication Datementioning

confidence: 99%

Desert dust impacts on human health: an alarming worldwide reality and a need for studies in West Africa

et al. 2012

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“…Other and more recent methods, such as ground-level observations of the horizontal visibility -which can be seen as a proxy indicator of dust (N'Tchayi Mbourou et al, 1997), are often highlighted in the literature (e.g. Anuforom, 2007;Engelstaedter et al, 2006;Mahowald et al, 2007;Ozer, 2001;Ozer et al, 2006b). But horizontal visibility also poses some problems, due to the scarcity of meteorological stations in some regions and the availability of data collected Ozer et al, 2005).…”

Section: Origin and Movement Of Desert Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

What do we know about effects of desert dust on air quality and human health in West Africa compared to other regions?

Longueville¹,

Hountondji²,

Henry³

et al. 2010

Science of The Total Environment

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167

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This study aims to compare, on the one hand, the geographical distribution of the desert dust source areas, their contribution to quantities emitted into the atmosphere, the trajectories and the quantities deposited, with on the other hand the areas of research interest focused on the desert dust impacts on air quality and/or human health. Based on a systematic review of the literature using the ISI Web of Knowledge database, we found 231 articles published over the last decade on the desert dust impacts on air quality. Of these, 48% concerned Asian dust and 39% Saharan dust, with the remaining 13% divided between the other dust source areas. However, only one of these studies addressed the worsening air pollution in West Africa, even though it is very close to the Sahara, the greatest contributor to the global dust budget. Moreover, there have been very few studies (41) looking at the direct links between desert dust and human health; in this context too, no interest has been shown in West Africa. Yet this region is also among the areas in which morbidity rates have been noted to be far higher than those found in other regions of the world, and where respiratory infections alone account for more than 20% of the causes of infant mortality. This survey highlights a clear imbalance between those areas most exposed to dust and the most studied areas in terms of dust impacts. Given these findings and the often alarming results published about other regions of the world, we advocate a revival of interest in research on West Africa in order to achieve a better understanding of the desert dust impacts on air quality and health among the populations of this region.

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“…All AQI categories have less or more impact on human health, and specifically the last AQI category (hazardous, >425 PM 10 μgm −3 ), is associated with a serious risk of respiratory symptoms and aggravation of lung disease, such as asthma, for sensitive groups and with respiratory effects likely in the general population (Ozer et al, 2006;Mohan and Kandya, 2007).…”

Section: Air Quality Index (Aqi)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal changes of particulate concentration in the ambient air over the city of Zahedan, Iran

Rashki

Rautenbach

Eriksson

et al. 2011

Air Qual Atmos Health

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Air pollution in developing countries has recently become a serious environmental problem which needs more active air quality monitoring and analyses. To assess air quality characteristics over the city of Zahedan, southeast Iran, airborne Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations with aerodynamic diameters of < 10 µm, < 2.5 µm and < 1.0 µm were measured during the period July 2008 to March 2010 using an Environmental Dust Monitor (EDM-180). The data were analyzed on daily, monthly and seasonal basis. The highest monthly mean PM 10 levels (172 gm -3 ) were recorded during the summer period (JuneAugust), presumably due to frequent dust storms from the nearby Sistan desert located to the north, while less PM 10 concentrations are recorded in winter (December-February) (101 gm -3 ). Linear regression analysis between the PM 2.5 and PM 10 time series reveals high correlation coefficients (r>0.82) for all seasons, implying that PM 10 and PM 2.5 may have the same source regions, or that they are influenced by the same local conditions. In contrast, neutral correlation is found between PM 10 and PM 1.0 in autumn and winter. Taking into account that the annual variation of PM 1.0 exhibits a clear pattern of peaking in winter and dropping in summer (in contrast to PM 10 ), it is suspected that PM 1.0 is of different origin than PM 10 and mainly influenced by local anthropogenic emissions. The daily PM 10 variation is strongly seasonally defined. The maximum PM 10 concentrations occur in the morning hours during winter, autumn (September-November) and early spring (March), while in summer PM 10 concentrations increase significantly in the afternoon closely associated with the intense northerly winds blowing from the desert. As far as the Air Quality Index (AQI) is concerned, its highest monthly values occur in summer, while they are reduced in winter. Desert dust 2 aerosols are found to be the major component in determining the AQI in Zahedan. The analysis shows that 15.3 % of the days are unhealthy for sensitive people, while 2 % are considered as hazardous.

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Estimation of air quality degradation due to Saharan dust at Nouakchott, Mauritania, from horizontal visibility data

Cited by 71 publications

References 43 publications

Desert dust impacts on human health: an alarming worldwide reality and a need for studies in West Africa

Desert dust impacts on human health: an alarming worldwide reality and a need for studies in West Africa

What do we know about effects of desert dust on air quality and human health in West Africa compared to other regions?

Temporal changes of particulate concentration in the ambient air over the city of Zahedan, Iran

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