Title: Characteristics of air pollution in SE Asia and its links to regional climate
Hugh Coe
Air quality in India and SE Asia is a very severe and growing problem. The development of
large megacities continues and emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulates have been
rising over the past decades. Sources of pollution across India include very substantial
contributions from wood burning for cooking purposes and low grade kerosene for lighting
and cooking. These sources contribute substantial amounts of black carbon, which unlike
those from high temperature combustion such as motor vehicles, are mixed with substantial
amounts of other components and as a result their absorptive properties are very
different. Unlike other developing areas such as China, India’s coal is low in sulphur and as a
result sulphate particulate is not the dominant contribution to pollution aerosol. On the
other hand substantial diesel sources provide substantial emissions of NOx. This, coupled
with very large region ammonia emissions mean that ammonium nitrate may well be a very
important, but as yet, poorly quantified component of submicron particulate. This talk will
discuss the key components of pollution in India’s cities and how those will affect the
properties of particulate and their likely effect regional climate.