Global temperature response to regional and sectoral air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne T. Lund ◽  
Borgar Aamaas ◽  
Camilla W. Stjern ◽  
Zbigniew Klimont ◽  
Terje K. Berntsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Global Temperature ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Impact

<p>Achieving the ambition of the Paris Agreement and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals require both near-zero levels of long-lived greenhouse gases and deep cuts in emissions of so-called short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), including methane and black carbon. Here we present a comprehensive dataset of contributions to future global temperature change from emissions of CO<sub>2</sub> and individual SLCFs from 7 economic sectors and 13 source regions, both as they are today and as they are projected to change under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Such detailed knowledge about the mix of emissions from individual sources and benefits and trade-offs of reductions is essential for designing efficient mitigation strategies at the national and international levels, as well as for informing policy processes on how to best address linkages between climate, sustainable development and air quality.</p><p>Our results demonstrate that the mitigation potential inherent in the present SLCF emissions is highly inhomogeneous across region and sector, and that co-emissions of all species – including CO<sub>2</sub> – should be considered in any targeted climate policy. We also reinforce the importance of reducing methane emissions, from agriculture, waste management and energy production, for reducing warming in the near-term. In contrast, in many regions, reducing industry emissions brings air quality benefits but may cause a net additional near-term warming. The spatiotemporal heterogeneity is expected to continue under the SSPs. Most scenarios project a particularly strong increase in aerosol and other SLCF emissions in South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara, suggesting that technology development and air pollution legislation in these regions is a key step in the transition to a low emission future. Moreover, both rapidly increasing and decreasing emissions of SLCFs will play an important role in shaping the regional climate and air quality.</p><p>By using an analytical climate model, we build a methodological framework that can be used to estimate the impact of any emission scenarios. Our data set hence provide a toolkit for further studies of implications of mitigation pathways and policy responses, and support assessments of environmental impacts.</p>

scholarly journals Mid-IR spectrometer for mobile, real-time urban NO<sub>2</sub> measurements

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2669-2681 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Morten Hundt ◽  
Michael Müller ◽  
Markus Mangold ◽  
Béla Tuzson ◽  
Philipp Scheidegger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Infrared Laser ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Laser Absorption ◽  
Spatial Coverage ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Detailed knowledge about the urban NO2 concentration field is a key element for obtaining accurate pollution maps and individual exposure estimates. These are required for improving the understanding of the impact of ambient NO2 on human health and for related air quality measures. However, city-scale NO2 concentration maps with high spatio-temporal resolution are still lacking, mainly due to the difficulty of accurate measurement of NO2 at the required sub-ppb level precision. We contribute to close this gap through the development of a compact instrument based on mid-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy. Leveraging recent advances in infrared laser and detection technology and a novel circular absorption cell, we demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of this technique for demanding mobile applications. A fully autonomous quantum cascade laser absorption spectrometer (QCLAS) has been successfully deployed on a tram, performing long-term and real-time concentration measurements of NO2 in the city of Zurich (Switzerland). For ambient NO2 concentrations, the instrument demonstrated a precision of 0.23 ppb at one second time resolution and of 0.03 ppb after 200 s averaging. Whilst the combined uncertainty estimated for the retrieved spectroscopic values was less than 5 %, laboratory intercomparison measurements with standard CLD instruments revealed a systematic NO2 wall loss of about 10 % within the laser spectrometer. For the field campaign, the QCLAS has been referenced to a CLD using urban atmospheric air, despite the potential cross sensitivity of CLD to other nitrogen containing compounds. However, this approach allowed a direct comparison and continuous validation of the spectroscopic data to measurements at regulatory air quality monitoring (AQM) stations along the tram-line. The analysis of the recorded high-resolution time series allowed us to gain more detailed insights into the spatio-temporal concentration distribution of NO2 in an urban environment. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that for reliable city-scale concentration maps a larger data set and better spatial coverage is needed, e.g., by deploying more mobile and stationary instruments to account for mainly two shortcomings of the current approach: (i) limited residence time close to sources with large short-term NO2 variations, and (ii) insufficient representativeness of the tram tracks for the complex urban environment.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Association between Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in the Capital of the Green Lungs of Poland–Population-Based Study with 2,953,000 Person-Years of Follow-Up

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2351
Author(s):  
Łukasz Kuźma ◽  
Krzysztof Struniawski ◽  
Szymon Pogorzelski ◽  
Hanna Bachórzewska-Gajewska ◽  
Sławomir Dobrzycki
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
World Health ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Daily Mortality ◽  
Male Population ◽  
The Impact

(1) Introduction: air pollution is considered to be one of the main risk factors for public health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of approximately 500,000 citizens of the European Union (EU), including almost 5000 inhabitants of Poland every year. (2) Purpose: to assess the gender differences in the impact of air pollution on the mortality in the population of the city of Bialystok—the capital of the Green Lungs of Poland. (3) Materials and Methods: based on the data from the Central Statistical Office, the number—and causes of death—of Białystok residents in the period 2008–2017 were analyzed. The study utilized the data recorded by the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection station and the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management during the analysis period. Time series regression with Poisson distribution was used in statistical analysis. (4) Results: A total of 34,005 deaths had been recorded, in which women accounted for 47.5%. The proportion of cardiovascular-related deaths was 48% (n = 16,370). An increase of SO2 concentration by 1-µg/m3 (relative risk (RR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.12; p = 0.005) and a 10 °C decrease of temperature (RR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.05; p = 0.005) were related to an increase in the number of daily deaths. No gender differences in the impact of air pollution on mortality were observed. In the analysis of the subgroup of cardiovascular deaths, the main pollutant that was found to have an effect on daily mortality was particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5); the RR for 10-µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 was 1.07 (95% CI 1.02–1.12; p = 0.01), and this effect was noted only in the male population. (5) Conclusions: air quality and atmospheric conditions had an impact on the mortality of Bialystok residents. The main air pollutant that influenced the mortality rate was SO2, and there were no gender differences in the impact of this pollutant. In the male population, an increased exposure to PM2.5 concentration was associated with significantly higher cardiovascular mortality. These findings suggest that improving air quality, in particular, even with lower SO2 levels than currently allowed by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, may benefit public health. Further studies on this topic are needed, but our results bring questions whether the recommendations concerning acceptable concentrations of air pollutants should be stricter, or is there a safe concentration of SO2 in the air at all.

To what extent does the environmental magnetism technique acts as a way of assessing the uptake of atmospheric particles by plants?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Letaïef ◽  
Pierre Camps ◽  
Thierry Poidras ◽  
Patrick Nicol ◽  
Delphine Bosch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Magnetic Measurements ◽  
Deposition Velocity ◽  
Environmental Magnetism ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Area Index ◽  
The Impact

&lt;p&gt;Numerous studies have already shown the possibility of tracing the sources, the&lt;br&gt;compositions, and the concentration of atmospheric pollutants deposited on plant&lt;br&gt;leaves. In environmental geochemistry, inter-element and isotope ratios from&lt;br&gt;chemical element assays have been used for these purposes. Alternatively,&lt;br&gt;environmental magnetism represents a quick and inexpensive asset that is&lt;br&gt;increasingly used as a relative indicator for concentrations of air pollutant on bio&lt;br&gt;accumulator surfaces such as plants. However, a fundamental issue is still pending:&lt;br&gt;Do plants in urban areas represent a sink for fine particles that is sufficiently effective&lt;br&gt;to improve air quality? This is a very topical issue because some studies have shown&lt;br&gt;that the foliage can trap fine particles by different dry deposition processes, while&lt;br&gt;other studies based on CFD models indicate that plant hedges in cities can hinder&lt;br&gt;the atmospheric dispersion of pollutants and therefore increase pollution at the level of&lt;br&gt;emission sources such as traffic. To date, no consensus was made because several&lt;br&gt;factors not necessary well known must be taken into account, such as, PM&lt;br&gt;concentration and size, prevailing wind, surface structures, epicuticular wax, to&lt;br&gt;mention just a few examples. A first step toward the understanding of the impact of&lt;br&gt;urban greens on air quality is the precise determination of the deposition velocity (Vd)&lt;br&gt;parameter. This latter is specific for each species and it is most of the time&lt;br&gt;underestimated in modeling-based studies by taking standard values.&lt;br&gt;In that perspective, we built a wind tunnel (6 m long, 86 cm wide and 86 cm high) to&lt;br&gt;perform analogical experiments on different endemic species. All parameters are&lt;br&gt;controlled, i.e, the wind speed, the nature and the injection time of pollutants (Gasoline&lt;br&gt;or Diesel exhausts, brakes or tires dust, etc&amp;#8230;). We can provide the PM concentrations&lt;br&gt;upwind and downwind of natural reconstituted hedges by two dustmeters (LOACs -&lt;br&gt;M&amp;#233;t&amp;#233;oModem). Beforehand, parameters such as the hedge resistance (%) or the leaf&lt;br&gt;area index (LAI) have been estimated for each studied specie to allow comparability&lt;br&gt;between plants removal potential. The interest would ultimately combine PM&lt;br&gt;concentration measured by size bins from the LOACs with magnetic measurements&lt;br&gt;(ARM, IRM100mT, IRM300mT and SIRM) of plant leaves. The idea is to check whether it&lt;br&gt;would be possible to precisely determine in situ the dust removal rate by urban greens&lt;br&gt;with environmental magnetism measurements. Up to now, we have carried out on&lt;br&gt;different endemic species such as Elaeagnus x ebbingei leaves and Mediterranean&lt;br&gt;pine needles, the results of which will be presented.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals The Impact of Future Emission Policies on Tropospheric Ozone using a Parameterised Approach

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Turnock ◽  
Oliver Wild ◽  
Frank Dentener ◽  
Yanko Davila ◽  
Louisa Emmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Tropospheric Ozone ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Source Attribution ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Emission ◽  
Tropospheric O3 ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Surface O3

Abstract. This study quantifies future changes in tropospheric ozone (O3) using a simple parameterisation of source-receptor relationships based on simulations from a range of models participating in the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants (TF-HTAP) experiments. Surface and tropospheric O3 changes are calculated globally and across 16 regions from perturbations in precursor emissions (NOx, CO, VOCs) and methane (CH4) abundance. A source attribution is provided for each source region along with an estimate of uncertainty based on the spread of the results from the models. Tests against model simulations using HadGEM2-ES confirm that the approaches used within the parameterisation are valid. The O3 response to changes in CH4 abundance is slightly larger in TF-HTAP Phase 2 than in the TF-HTAP Phase 1 assessment (2010) and provides further evidence that controlling CH4 is important for limiting future O3 concentrations. Different treatments of chemistry and meteorology in models remains one of the largest uncertainties in calculating the O3 response to perturbations in CH4 abundance and precursor emissions, particularly over the Middle East and South Asian regions. Emission changes for the future ECLIPSE scenarios and a subset of preliminary Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) indicate that surface O3 concentrations will increase by 1 to 8 ppbv in 2050 across different regions. Source attribution analysis highlights the growing importance of CH4 in the future under current legislation. A global tropospheric O3 radiative forcing of +0.07 W m−2 from 2010 to 2050 is predicted using the ECLIPSE scenarios and SSPs, based solely on changes in CH4 abundance and tropospheric O3 precursor emissions and neglecting any influence of climate change. Current legislation is shown to be inadequate in limiting the future degradation of surface ozone air quality and enhancement of near-term climate warming. More stringent future emission controls provide a large reduction in both surface O3 concentrations and O3 radiative forcing. The parameterisation provides a simple tool to highlight the different impacts and associated uncertainties of local and hemispheric emission control strategies on both surface air quality and the near-term climate forcing by tropospheric O3.

scholarly journals Avoided Mortality Associated with Improved Air Quality from an Increase in Renewable Energy in the Spanish Transport Sector: Use of Biofuels and the Adoption of the Electric Car

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1603
Author(s):  
Ana R. Gamarra ◽  
Yolanda Lechón ◽  
Marta G. Vivanco ◽  
Mark Richard Theobald ◽  
Carmen Lago ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Premature Deaths ◽  
Electric Car ◽  
The Impact

This paper assesses the health impact, in terms of the reduction of premature deaths associated with changes in air pollutant exposure, resulting from double-aim strategies for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants from the transport sector for the year 2030 in Spain. The impact on air quality of selected measures for reducing emissions from the transport sector (increased penetration of biofuel and electric car use) was assessed by air quality modeling. The estimation of population exposure to NO2, particulate matter (PM) and O3 allows for estimation of associated mortality and external costs in comparison with the baseline scenario with no measures. The results show that the penetration of the electric vehicle provided the largest benefits, even when the emissions due to the additional electricity demand were considered.

FRI0531 AIR POLLUTANTS AND DEVELOPMENT OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 865.1-865
Author(s):  
H. H. Chen ◽  
W. C. Chao ◽  
Y. H. Chen ◽  
D. Y. Chen ◽  
C. H. Lin
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Autoimmune Diseases ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Newly Diagnosed ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modest Level

Background:Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is characterized by progressive inflammation and fibrosis, and accumulating evidence have shown that exposure to air pollutants was associated with the development of ILD. Autoimmune diseases are highly correlated with ILD, including connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD-ILD) as well as interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), and the development of ILD is a crucial cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with autoimmune diseases. One recent Taiwanese study reported that exposure to air pollutants was associated with incident systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the impact of air pollutants on the development of ILD among patients with autoimmune diseases remains unknown.Objectives:The study aimed to address the impact of accumulating exposure to air pollutant above moderate level, defined by Air Quality Index (AQI) value higher than 50, on the development of ILD in patients with autoimmune diseases including SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and primary Sjögren’s syndrome (SS).Methods:We used a National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan to enroll patients with SLE (International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 code 710.0, n=13,211), RA (ICD-9 code 714.0 and 714.30–714.33, n=32,373), and primary SS (ICD-9 code, 710.0, n=15,246) between 2001 and 2013. We identified newly diagnosed ILD cases (ICD-code 515) between 2012 and 2013 and selected age, sex, disease duration and index-year matched (1:4) patients as non-ILD controls. The hourly levels of air pollutants one year prior to the index-date were obtained from 60 air quality monitoring stations across Taiwan, and the air pollutants in the present study consisted of particulate matter <2.5 μm in size (PM2.5), particulate matter <10 μm in size (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3). We used a spatio-temporal model built by a deep-learning mechanism to estimate levels of air pollutants at 374 residential locations based on data of 3 air quality monitoring stations near the location (8). Notably, we used cumulative exposed hours to air pollutants higher than modest level, defined by AQI criteria, given that daily mean level of air pollutants might possibly underestimate the triggered inflammatory effect by a temporary exposure of high-level air pollutant. A conditional logistic regression was used to determine the association between exposure to air pollutant and the development of ILD, adjusting age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), urbanization, family income, and medications for autoimmune diseases.Results:A total of 272 patients with newly diagnosed ILD were identified among patients with autoimmune diseases, including 39 with SLE, 135 with RA, and 98 with primary SS. We found that the duration of exposure to PM 2.5 higher than modest level was associated with the risk of ILD development in patients with SS (adjOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.13), and similar trends were also found in patients with SLE (adjOR 1.03, 95% CI 0.95–1.12) and RA (adjOR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99–1.07). Intriguingly, we observed an inverse correlation between the duration of exposure to O3 and the development of ILD in patients with SS (adjOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70–0.99); however, the finding was not found in patients with SLE (adjOR 1.13, 95% CI 0.92–1.37) and RA (adjOR 0.98, 95% CI 0.87–1.11).Conclusion:In conclusion, we identified that longer exposure to PM2.5 higher than modest level tended to be associated with the development of ILD in patients with autoimmune diseases, mainly SS.References:[1] Araki T, Putman RK, Hatabu H, Gao W, Dupuis J, Latourelle JC, et al. Development and Progression of Interstitial Lung Abnormalities in the Framingham Heart Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2016;194:1514-1522.[2] Tang KT, Tsuang BJ, Ku KC, Chen YH, Lin CH, Chen DY. Relationship between exposure to air pollutants and development of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: a nationwide population-based case-control study. Ann Rheum Dis 2019;78:1288-1291.Disclosure of Interests:Hsin-Hua Chen: None declared, Wen-Cheng Chao: None declared, Yi-Hsing Chen Grant/research support from: Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan Department of Health, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University, GSK, Pfizer, BMS., Consultant of: Pfizer, Novartis, Abbvie, Johnson & Johnson, BMS, Roche, Lilly, GSK, Astra& Zeneca, Sanofi, MSD, Guigai, Astellas, Inova Diagnostics, UCB, Agnitio Science Technology, United Biopharma, Thermo Fisher, Gilead., Paid instructor for: Pfizer, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Lilly, Astra& Zeneca, Sanofi, Astellas, Agnitio Science Technology, United Biopharma., Speakers bureau: Pfizer, Novartis, Abbvie, Johnson & Johnson, BMS, Roche, Lilly, GSK, Astra& Zeneca, Sanofi, MSD, Guigai, Astellas, Inova Diagnostics, UCB, Agnitio Science Technology, United Biopharma, Thermo Fisher, Gilead., Der-Yuan Chen: None declared, Ching-Heng Lin: None declared

Atmospheric satellite-based and in situ surface observations on summertime trace gases (CO, CO2, CH4) over the metropolitan area of Bucharest

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius-Paul Corbu ◽  
Andreea Calcan ◽  
Ioana Vizireanu ◽  
Denisa Elena Moaca ◽  
Robert-Valentin Chiritescu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Trace Gases ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Synoptic Conditions

&lt;p&gt;Although anthropogenic emissions of trace gases have decreased over the last decades in Europe, strong additional reductions are required to reach the goals of the Paris climate agreements. In addition, air pollution is an issue of great concern for the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of Bucharest, as the local air quality is often poor. The rapid development of the city, increased traffic volume from a mixed vehicle fleet (different technologies and fuels), and other factors are strong contributors of emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in Bucharest.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The goal of this research was the assessment of CO, CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; concentrations in Bucharest, identification of potential emissions hotspots and their causes (anthropogenic or natural/biogenic, local or distant) and determination of the background values.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Measurements were performed in summer 2019 in four districts of Bucharest covering about two thirds of the metropolitan area during the Romanian Methane Emissions from Oil&amp;gas (ROMEO) campaign with high resolution (1 sec). These data sets were complemented with satellite observations of CO and CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; from Copernicus Sentinel-5P at a resolution of 7 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hourly meteorological data, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and atmospheric pressure were added to the air pollutant data set because synoptic conditions can strongly influence the levels of pollution. Air mass origins were investigated by computing backward air mass trajectories using the HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model for 72 hours back.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Points of high concentrations of CO, CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; near the surface were identified which are, most likely, linked to local anthropogenic activities in the nearby surroundings. We identified a variation of concentrations of CO from 0.01 to 101 ppm, of CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; from 388 to 6556 ppm, and of CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; from 1.89 to 246 ppm, while background levels are as follows: 0.071&amp;#177;0.042 ppm CO, 392.68&amp;#177;3.01 ppm CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, and 1.93&amp;#177;0.016 ppm CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Results of our study provide an up to date quantitative image of CO, CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; hotspots in the Bucharest area, which is important for modeling air quality and may also help to improve the relationships between column integrated air pollution data with in situ ground observations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Acknowledgement:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This research is supported by ROMEO project, developed under UNEP&amp;#8217;s financial support PCA/CCAC/UU/DTIE19-EN652. Partial financial support from UB198/Int project is also acknowledged.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The authors acknowledge the free use of tropospheric CO and CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; column data from TROPOMI (Sentinel-5P) sensor from https://s5phub.copernicus.eu and the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory for the provision of the HYSPLIT transport model available at READY website https://www.ready.noaa.gov&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Special thanks to all INCAS technical staff for their support in performing the campaigns.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Meteorological Normalisation Using Boosted Regression Trees to Estimate the Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Air Quality Levels

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 13347
Author(s):  
Sandra Ceballos-Santos ◽  
Jaime González-Pardo ◽  
David C. Carslaw ◽  
Ana Santurtún ◽  
Miguel Santibáñez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Boosted Regression Trees ◽  
Anthropogenic Emissions ◽  
Data Series ◽  
Sustainable Mobility ◽  
Boosted Regression Tree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

The global COVID-19 pandemic that began in late December 2019 led to unprecedented lockdowns worldwide, providing a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the impacts of restricted anthropogenic emissions on air quality. A wide range of strategies and approaches exist to achieve this. In this paper, we use the “deweather” R package, based on Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) models, first to remove the influences of meteorology and emission trend patterns from NO, NO2, PM10 and O3 data series, and then to calculate the relative changes in air pollutant levels in 2020 with respect to the previous seven years (2013–2019). Data from a northern Spanish region, Cantabria, with all types of monitoring stations (traffic, urban background, industrial and rural) were used, dividing the calendar year into eight periods according to the intensity of government restrictions. The results showed mean reductions in the lockdown period above −50% for NOx, around −10% for PM10 and below −5% for O3. Small differences were found between the relative changes obtained from normalised data with respect to those from observations. These results highlight the importance of developing an integrated policy to reduce anthropogenic emissions and the need to move towards sustainable mobility to ensure safer air quality levels, as pre-existing concentrations in some cases exceed the safe threshold.

scholarly journals Guidelines for Operationalizing Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) as a Methodology for the Design and Implementation of Sustainable Development Strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harlan Koff ◽  
Antony Challenger ◽  
Israel Portillo
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
National Development ◽  
Development Strategies ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
Policy Coherence ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Policy Coherence For Development ◽  
The Impact

Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is considered a pillar of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. It aims to promote whole of government approaches to sustainable development. Despite its prominence in development cooperation discussions, many national development professionals or stakeholders have not heard of PCD, indicating that its effectiveness is significantly limited. This article contends that the impact of PCD has not been maximized because it has been presented as a political objective or a policy tool by multilateral organizations and their member states. Instead, the article argues that PCD should be implemented as a methodology that can be adopted by domestic government and non-governmental actors alike, in order to understand trade-offs and co-benefits within and between policy sectors, thus promoting a participative approach. I-GAMMA is a research project in Mexico that examines data-driven public policy in order to promote PCD. It is based on in-depth reviews of policy documents and interviews with development actors. It is committed to open data, evidence-based policymaking, and collaborative dialogue between academics, government officials, and representatives of civil society organizations in sustainable development discussions. In the results section of this article, the project proposes participative PCD as a methodology for policy analysis through which a plurality of actors can identify mechanisms that either reinforce or undermine sustainable development strategies. This section then applies the methodology to the governance of protected natural areas in Mexico. The discussion section and the conclusions highlight the relevance of this approach for participative policymaking in sustainable development.

scholarly journals Biomarkers and indoor air quality: A translational research review

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Araliya M. Senerat ◽  
Sheila M. Manemann ◽  
Nicholas S. Clements ◽  
Robert D. Brook ◽  
Leslie C. Hassett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Indoor Air Pollutants ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Introduction: Air pollution is linked to mortality and morbidity. Since humans spend nearly all their time indoors, improving indoor air quality (IAQ) is a compelling approach to mitigate air pollutant exposure. To assess interventions, relying on clinical outcomes may require prolonged follow-up, which hinders feasibility. Thus, identifying biomarkers that respond to changes in IAQ may be useful to assess the effectiveness of interventions. Methods: We conducted a narrative review by searching several databases to identify studies published over the last decade that measured the response of blood, urine, and/or salivary biomarkers to variations (natural and intervention-induced) of changes in indoor air pollutant exposure. Results: Numerous studies reported on associations between IAQ exposures and biomarkers with heterogeneity across study designs and methods. This review summarizes the responses of 113 biomarkers described in 30 articles. The biomarkers which most frequently responded to variations in indoor air pollutant exposures were high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), von Willebrand Factor (vWF), 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP). Conclusions: This review will guide the selection of biomarkers for translational studies evaluating the impact of indoor air pollutants on human health.

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