Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the ambient air-pollutants over the Arabian Peninsula

Karumuri, Rama Krishna; Dasari, Hari Prasad; Gandham, Harikishan; Viswanadhapalli, Yesubabu; Madineni, Venkat Ratnam; Hoteit, Ibrahim

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2022.963145

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…Studies in Brazil observed a reduction of NO 2 (− 54.3%), CO (− 64.8%) and an increase in O 3 (30%) (Nakada & Urban, 2020 ) . Karumuri et al ( 2022 ) also found similar reduction (50–60%) in NO 2 and SO 2 over Arabian Peninsular using WRF-Chem model simulations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Spatial variability of trace gases (NO2, O3 and CO) over Indian region during 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns

Vignesh

Jain

Saikranthi

et al. 2023

Environ Monit Assess

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COVID-19 lockdown has given us an opportunity to investigate the pollutant concentrations in response to the restricted anthropogenic activities. The atmospheric concentration levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O 3 ) have been analysed for the periods during the first wave of COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 (25th March–31st May 2020) and during the partial lockdowns due to second wave in 2021 (25th March–15th June 2021) across India. The trace gas measurements from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Atmosphere InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) satellites have been used. An overall decrease in the concentration of O 3 (5–10%) and NO 2 (20–40%) have been observed during the 2020 lockdown when compared with business as usual (BAU) period in 2019, 2018 and 2017. However, the CO concentration increased up to 10–25% especially in the central-west region. O 3 and NO 2 slightly increased or had no change in 2021 lockdown when compared with the BAU period, but CO showed a mixed variation prominently influenced by the biomass burning/forest fire activities. The changes in trace gas levels during 2020 lockdown have been predominantly due to the reduction in the anthropogenic activities, whereas in 2021, the changes have been mostly due to natural factors like meteorology and long-range transport, as the emission levels have been similar to that of BAU. Later phases of 2021 lockdown saw the dominant effect of rainfall events resulting in washout of pollutants. This study reveals that partial or local lockdowns have very less impact on reducing pollution levels on a regional scale as natural factors like atmospheric long-range transport and meteorology play deciding roles on their concentration levels. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-023-11318-2.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Spatial variability of trace gases (NO2, O3 and CO) over Indian region during 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns

Vignesh

Jain

Saikranthi

et al. 2023

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Karagulian et al, (2019) highlighted the effectiveness of integrating WRF-chem model simulations with satellite and ground observations to understand and predict the impact of severe dust storms on air quality. Karumuri et al, (2022) reported significant air quality changes due to COVID-19 lockdown measures, with reduced trace gas concentrations but increased particulate matter from dust activities, the latter stressed by Francis et al (2022a) who attributed it to changes in the atmospheric circulation. Moreover, Parajuli et al, (2022; utilized high-resolution WRF-Chem simulations and advanced aerosol schemes to analyse the dust and rainfall dynamics, providing insights into the direct and indirect effects of dust on rainfall which aids in better regional water resource planning through accurate rainfall predictions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the WRF-Chem Performance for gaseous pollutants over the United Arab Emirates

Yarragunta,

Francis,

Fonseca

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Abstract. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) in simulating meteorological parameters and concentrations of gaseous pollutants across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the months of June and December 2018, representing the contrasting climatic conditions of summer and winter. The assessment of WRF-Chem performance involved comparisons with ground-based observations for meteorological parameters and satellite retrievals from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) for gaseous pollutants. The assessment of gaseous pollutants using the WRF-Chem model revealed distinct patterns in the estimation of pollutant levels across different areas and seasons. The comparison with TROPOMI column concentration revealed the model's strengths in simulating tropospheric NO2 and total O3 spatio-temporal patterns, although it had deficiencies in modelling the total CO column concentrations. The model exhibited a strong correlation with TROPOMI retrievals, with correlation coefficients ranging between 0.71 and 0.95 for summer and 0.86 to 0.94 for winter among these gaseous pollutants. It tended to slightly overestimate NO2 levels, with a higher discrepancy observed in summer (0.24 x 1015 molecules/cm2) compared to winter (0.19 x 1015 molecules/cm2). When comparing WRF-Chem to TROPOMI-CO data, the discrepancies were more pronounced, showing an overestimation of 0.48 x 1018 molecules/cm2 in summer and a significant underestimation of 1.13 x 1018 molecules/cm2 in winter. The model consistently underestimated ozone levels in both seasons, by 0.15 x 1018 and 0.20 x 1018 molecules/cm2, respectively. Meteorological evaluations revealed the model's tendency to underestimate the 2-m temperature in summer and overestimate it in winter, with mean biases ranging from -2.17 to +1.19 °C and a Root Mean Square Error in the range of 0.8 to 5.9 °C among the stations. The model showed enhanced performance for the 10-m wind speed and downward shortwave radiation flux, reflecting advancements over previous studies. Therefore, the WRF-Chem model effectively simulates key meteorological parameters and pollutants over the UAE, demonstrating significant regional-scale prediction skills. Areas for further model refinement are also identified and discussed. Integrating model predictions with satellite and ground-based data is emphasized for advancing air quality monitoring and enhancing predictive accuracy of atmospheric pollutants in this region.

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“…Dust activity over the AP typically begins in early spring and peaks in summer (e.g., Kunchala et al, 2018), although occasional dust events occur throughout the year. The abrupt increase in summer dust emissions over the AP is due to enhanced local surface heating, strong local winds, and a reduction in soil moisture and vegetation (e.g., Davis et al, 2015;Karumuri et al, 2021Karumuri et al, , 2022Kunchala et al, 2019;Yu et al, 2016). The seasonal and interannual variability of dust accumulation over the AP is closely associated with the frequency and intensity of dust storms (Farahat et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Dust‐Induced Direct Radiative Forcing Over the Arabian Peninsula Based on High‐Resolution WRF‐Chem Simulations

Karumuri,

Dasari,

Gandham

et al. 2024

JGR Atmospheres

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This study investigates the impact of dust on radiation over the Arabian Peninsula (AP) during the reported high, low, and normal dust seasons (March–August) of 2012, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Simulations were performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to a Chemistry module (WRF‐Chem). The simulated seasonal horizontal and vertical dust concentrations, and their interannual distinctions, match well with those from two ground‐based AERONET observations, and measurements from MODIS and CALIOP satellites. The maximum dust concentrations over the dust‐source regions in the southern AP reach vertically upto 700 hPa during the high dust season, but only upto 900–950 hPa during the low/normal dust seasons. Stronger incoming low‐level winds along the southern Red Sea and those from Iraq bring in higher‐than‐normal dust during the high dust summers. We conducted a sensitivity experiment by switching‐off the dust module to assess the radiative perturbations due to dust. The results suggest that active dust‐module improved the fidelity of simulated radiation fluxes distributions at the surface and top of the atmosphere vis‐à‐vis Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) measurements. Dust results in a 26 Wm−2 short‐wave (SW) radiative forcing in the tropospheric‐column over the AP. The SW radiative forcing increases by another 6–8 Wm−2 during the high dust season due to the increased number of extreme dust days, which also amplifies atmospheric heating. During extreme dust days, the heating rate exhibits a dipolar structure, with cooling over the Iraq region and warming of 40%–60% over the southern‐AP.

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Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the ambient air-pollutants over the Arabian Peninsula

Cited by 6 publications

References 56 publications

Spatial variability of trace gases (NO2, O3 and CO) over Indian region during 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns

Spatial variability of trace gases (NO2, O3 and CO) over Indian region during 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 lockdowns

Evaluation of the WRF-Chem Performance for gaseous pollutants over the United Arab Emirates

Investigation of Dust‐Induced Direct Radiative Forcing Over the Arabian Peninsula Based on High‐Resolution WRF‐Chem Simulations

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