the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on surface air quality changes in major African countries
Abstract. The lockdown during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provides a natural experience to examine the air quality changes from emission reductions. However, limited monitoring data has made it challenging to study these changes in major African regions. This study aimed to assess air quality changes, including major pollutants such as CO, NO2, O3, SO2, and aerosol particles during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 across different African countries. Using chemical reanalysis products from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, we calculated quarterly dual anomalies and quarterly anomalies for MAM (March to May) and JJA (June to August) in 2020. Results showed a general decline in CO, NO2, O3, and nitrate aerosol across majority African countries, with more pronounced decreases during JJA. However, discrepancies were also seen: quarterly dual anomalies revealed a decrease in NO2 and SO2 in Northern Africa (NA), while quarterly anomalies showed an increase, suggesting containment policies moderated the increase rates. In Southern Africa (SA), both methods observed increases in SO2, likely due to relaxed restrictions and heightened energy demands. Sensitivity diagnostics showed that the increase in O3 in South Africa may be related to the decrease in NO2. Additionally, increased in sulfate and ammonium aerosols in NA and SA was likely attributed to dust events and higher residential emissions, respectively. For this study, we concluded that air quality changes may be intertwined with both natural and anthropogenic influences and the results highlight the necessity for stricter emission standards for coal-fired plants and promote clean energy in African countries.
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Status: open (until 07 Dec 2024)
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2951', Anonymous Referee #1, 28 Oct 2024
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I'm suggesting an immediate rejection to give the authors time to consider including as co-authors researchers with local knowledge and expertise in air quality in Africa. This is to that these experts can provide insight into the quality of the dataset for representing air quality in Africa and to provide local knowledge of energy shifts in response to lockdowns, meteorological factors and other actions or behaviours that support or refute the findings. This will delay submission of the paper, but will ultimately enhance the validity and credibility of the study and will no doubt lead to additional valuable insights.
There are many researchers that the authors could contact. Here are some suggestions: For southern Africa, this could be Mary Scholes, Rebecca Garland, Stuart Piketh, for West Africa this could be Cathy Liousse, Sekou Keita, Evelyne Touré N’Datchoh, for Central and East Africa this could be Solomon Bililign, Egide Kalisa, Aderiana Mutheu Mbandi.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2951-RC1
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