Future aerosol mitigation impacts were evaluated for India

A study conducted by the University of Eastern Finland and Finnish Meteorological Institute assessed the impacts of future aerosol emission reductions over the Indian subcontinent. During the research project, a machine-learning method was developed for correcting global model-based fine particulate matter estimates.

Original photo: Timo Anttila, modification: Tuuli Miinalainen

The aim of the study was to analyze the effects of aerosol emission mitigation on both regional radiative forcing and city-level air quality with a global-scale climate model, with special focus on India and the surrounding area. However, global-scale models do not necessarily provide accurate enough estimates for city-level air quality. In order to tackle this issue, a machine learning downscaling method was developed. The method combined global model data and ground station measured fine particulate matter concentration data from New Delhi. The results indicated that future aerosol mitigation could result in both improved city-level air quality and less radiative heating for India.

Further information:

Postdoc researcher Tuuli Miinalainen, Ilmatieteen laitos, tuuli.miinalainen@fmi.fi

Group leader Thomas Kühn, Ilmatieteen laitos, thomas.kuhn@fmi.fi

Miinalainen, T., Kokkola, H., Lipponen, A., Hyvärinen, A.-P., Soni, V. K., Lehtinen, K. E. J., and Kühn, T.: Assessing the climate and air quality effects of future aerosol mitigation in India using a global climate model combined with statistical downscaling, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3471–3491, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3471-2023, 2023.

Scientific article: https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/3471/2023/

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