Articles | Volume 19, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-7231-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-7231-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Two decades of kilometer-scale daily PM2.5 from satellite observations and machine learning reveal geographically diverging exposure in Ghana
Abhishek Anand
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Joe A. Amooli
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Selina Amoah
Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Accra, Ghana
Esi Nerquaye Tetteh
Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Accra, Ghana
Nana Ama Browne Klutse
Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Accra, Ghana
Clement Mensah Ackaah
Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Accra, Ghana
Benjamin Essien
Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Accra, Ghana
Kingsley Mawuli Amegah
Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, Accra, Ghana
Daniel M. Westervelt
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Bosi Sheng, Massimo A. Bollasina, Alexandre S. Gagnon, Laura J. Wilcox, Thomas P. S. Reynolds, Christopher T. S. Beckett, Haolin Wang, Qingxiang Li, Pierre Nabat, Robert J. Allen, Bjørn H. Samset, Joonas Merikanto, Geeta G. Persad, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, Sharar Ahmadi, Maxwell T. Elling, Knut von Salzen, Daniel M. Westervelt, Naga Oshima, and Tsuyoshi Koshiro
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2198, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2198, 2026
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Observational records indicate that austral summer rainfall over southern Africa experienced substantial wetting during the late 20th century, followed by pronounced drying over the past two decades. We show that East Asian sulphate aerosol emissions played a key role in shaping these rainfall trends. These findings have important implications for reducing uncertainties in regional rainfall projections and for understanding their links to ecosystem changes.
Gopalakrishna Sreerekha Gopikrishnan, Daniel M. Westervelt, and Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 1907–1929, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1907-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1907-2026, 2026
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This study examines the inverse effect of aerosol surface area and particulate matter (PM) reduction on air quality and atmospheric chemistry, particularly on surface ozone levels. Aerosols act as surfaces for the uptake of hydroxyl radicals (HO2), which are essential for controlling ozone formation. Reducing aerosols and PM may enhance surface ozone formation, thus worsening air quality. However, further efforts to decrease NOx emissions could mitigate this rise in surface ozone levels.
Samuel Bartusek, Yutian Wu, Mingfang Ting, Arlene Fiore, and Daniel M. Westervelt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4874, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4874, 2025
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Air pollution and extreme humid heat are both significant hazards, but their co-occurrence remains unstudied on a global scale. Using chemical and meteorological reanalyses, we find that in many areas, accounting for much of the global population, more humid heat tends to correspond with worse pollution than drier heat. We identify hotspots and study the mechanisms of this co-occurrence; our results imply it may be driven by more urban background chemistry and air stagnation during humid heat.
Joe Adabouk Amooli, Marianne T. Lund, Sourangsu Chowdhury, Gunnar Myhre, Ane N. Johansen, Bjørn H. Samset, and Daniel M. Westervelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 11611–11632, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-11611-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-11611-2025, 2025
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We analyze various projections of African aerosol emissions and their potential impacts on climate and public health. We find that future emissions vary widely across emission projections, with differences in sectoral emission distributions. Using the Oslo chemical transport model, we show that air pollution exposure in some regions of Africa could increase significantly by 2050, increasing pollution-related deaths, with most scenarios projecting aerosol-induced warming over sub-Saharan Africa.
Catherine A. Toolan, Joe Adabouk Amooli, Laura J. Wilcox, Bjørn H. Samset, Andrew G. Turner, and Daniel M. Westervelt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 10523–10557, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10523-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10523-2025, 2025
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Our research explores how well air pollution and rainfall patterns in Africa are represented in current climate models by comparing model data to observations from 1981 to 2023. While most models capture seasonal air quality changes well, they struggle to replicate the distribution of non-dust pollutants and certain rainfall patterns, especially over east Africa. Improving these models is crucial for better climate predictions and preparing for future risks.
Duncan Watson-Parris, Laura J. Wilcox, Camilla W. Stjern, Robert J. Allen, Geeta Persad, Massimo A. Bollasina, Annica M. L. Ekman, Carley E. Iles, Manoj Joshi, Marianne T. Lund, Daniel McCoy, Daniel M. Westervelt, Andrew I. L. Williams, and Bjørn H. Samset
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4443–4454, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4443-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4443-2025, 2025
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In 2020, regulations by the International Maritime Organization aimed to reduce aerosol emissions from ships. These aerosols previously had a cooling effect, which the regulations might reduce, revealing more greenhouse gas warming. Here we find that, while there is regional warming, the global 2020–2040 temperature rise is only +0.03 °C. This small change is difficult to distinguish from natural climate variability, indicating the regulations have had a limited effect on observed warming to date.
Stephanie Fiedler, Vaishali Naik, Fiona M. O'Connor, Christopher J. Smith, Paul Griffiths, Ryan J. Kramer, Toshihiko Takemura, Robert J. Allen, Ulas Im, Matthew Kasoar, Angshuman Modak, Steven Turnock, Apostolos Voulgarakis, Duncan Watson-Parris, Daniel M. Westervelt, Laura J. Wilcox, Alcide Zhao, William J. Collins, Michael Schulz, Gunnar Myhre, and Piers M. Forster
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 2387–2417, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-2387-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-2387-2024, 2024
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Climate scientists want to better understand modern climate change. Thus, climate model experiments are performed and compared. The results of climate model experiments differ, as assessed in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report. This article gives insights into the challenges and outlines opportunities for further improving the understanding of climate change. It is based on views of a group of experts in atmospheric composition–climate interactions.
Laura J. Wilcox, Robert J. Allen, Bjørn H. Samset, Massimo A. Bollasina, Paul T. Griffiths, James Keeble, Marianne T. Lund, Risto Makkonen, Joonas Merikanto, Declan O'Donnell, David J. Paynter, Geeta G. Persad, Steven T. Rumbold, Toshihiko Takemura, Kostas Tsigaridis, Sabine Undorf, and Daniel M. Westervelt
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 4451–4479, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4451-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4451-2023, 2023
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Changes in anthropogenic aerosol emissions have strongly contributed to global and regional climate change. However, the size of these regional impacts and the way they arise are still uncertain. With large changes in aerosol emissions a possibility over the next few decades, it is important to better quantify the potential role of aerosol in future regional climate change. The Regional Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project will deliver experiments designed to facilitate this.
Forwood Wiser, Bryan K. Place, Siddhartha Sen, Havala O. T. Pye, Benjamin Yang, Daniel M. Westervelt, Daven K. Henze, Arlene M. Fiore, and V. Faye McNeill
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 1801–1821, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1801-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-1801-2023, 2023
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We developed a reduced model of atmospheric isoprene oxidation, AMORE-Isoprene 1.0. It was created using a new Automated Model Reduction (AMORE) method designed to simplify complex chemical mechanisms with minimal manual adjustments to the output. AMORE-Isoprene 1.0 has improved accuracy and similar size to other reduced isoprene mechanisms. When included in the CRACMM mechanism, it improved the accuracy of EPA’s CMAQ model predictions for the northeastern USA compared to observations.
Mathew Sebastian, Sobhan Kumar Kompalli, Vasudevan Anil Kumar, Sandhya Jose, S. Suresh Babu, Govindan Pandithurai, Sachchidanand Singh, Rakesh K. Hooda, Vijay K. Soni, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Ville Vakkari, Eija Asmi, Daniel M. Westervelt, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, and Vijay P. Kanawade
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4491–4508, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4491-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4491-2022, 2022
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Characteristics of particle number size distributions and new particle formation in six locations in India were analyzed. New particle formation occurred frequently during the pre-monsoon (spring) season and it significantly modulates the shape of the particle number size distributions. The contribution of newly formed particles to cloud condensation nuclei concentrations was ~3 times higher in urban locations than in mountain background locations.
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Short summary
Air pollution remains poorly characterized across sub-Saharan Africa due to sparse monitoring infrastructure. We developed a multi-model machine learning framework to generate a 21-year, high-resolution PM2.5 dataset for Ghana, revealing pronounced spatial and seasonal variability, persistent geographic exposure disparities, and contrasting long-term trends. These findings provide new evidence to support air-quality management, health assessments, and environmental policy in data-sparse regions.
Air pollution remains poorly characterized across sub-Saharan Africa due to sparse monitoring...
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