Transport modelling of pollutants emitted from Guinea Savannah vegetation fire

ABSTRACT

The Sub-Saharan African region suffers from a high concentration of pollutants from savannah fires, which adversely affect the environment and human health. This study aims to predict the ground-level concentrations (GLC) of pollutants emitted during savannah fires and evaluate their extent of dispersion in the atmosphere. The American Meteorological Society/United States Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD) was used to predict pollutant concentrations under different scenarios in Nigeria. The model suggested that the GLC of the 24-hr averaging of PM_2.5 exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines. The results can be a basis for mitigation strategies and control of emissions from savannah fires.

KEYWORDS:

• Savannah fires
• PM_2.5
• emissions guidelines
• model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, under the no. DAPM/TETFUND/01/13