Seasonal and Diurnal Air Pollution from Residential Cooking and Space Heating in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Residential combustion of solid fuel is a major source of air pollution. In regions where space heating and cooking occur at the same time and using the same stoves and fuels, evaluating air-pollution patterns for household-energy-use scenarios with and without heating is essential to energy intervention design and estimation of its population health impacts as well as the development of residential emission inventories and air-quality models. We measured continuous and 48 h integrated indoor PM2.5 concentrations over 221 and 203 household-days and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations on a subset of those days (in summer and winter, respectively) in 204 households in the eastern Tibetan Plateau that burned biomass in traditional stoves and open fires. Using continuous indoor PM2.5 concentrations, we estimated mean daily hours of combustion activity, which increased from 5.4 h per day (95% CI: 5.0, 5.8) in summer to 8.9 h per day (95% CI: 8.1, 9.7) in winter, and effective air-exchange rates, which decreased from 18 ± 9 h(-1) in summer to 15 ± 7 h(-1) in winter. Indoor geometric-mean 48 h PM2.5 concentrations were over two times higher in winter (252 μg/m(3); 95% CI: 215, 295) than in summer (101 μg/m(3); 95%: 91, 112), whereas outdoor PM2.5 levels had little seasonal variability.

Global radiative effects of solid fuel cookstove aerosol emissions

“…Cookstove intervention programs have been implemented in developing countries, such as China, India and some African countries, to improve air quality and human health and to mitigate climate change (Anenberg et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2016;Carter et al, 2016). Our results suggest that large-scale efforts to replace inefficient cookstoves in developing countries with advanced technologies is not likely to reduce global warming through aerosol reductions, and may even lead to increased global warming when aerosol-cloud interactions are taken into account.…”

“…The possible scope for global climate co-benefits in future Indian cookstove intervention programs warrants further examination and analysis of this region. BC-rich household solid fuel emission plays an important role in affecting regional air quality (ArcherNicholls et al, 2016;Carter et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2016) and influencing global climate change (Bauer et al, 2010;Butt et al, 2016;Venkataraman et al, 2005). The human health consequences of solid fuel combustion are substantial (ArcherNicholls et al, 2016;Ezzati and Kammen, 2002;Lelieveld et al, 2015).…”

Radiative Effects of Residential Sector Emissions in China: Sensitivity to Uncertainty in Black Carbon Emissions

“…Other contributions to the residential sector includes emissions from other fuel sources, such as liquified petroleum gas, and other activities, such as lighting (Klimont et al, 2017). The temporal activity of these emissions is determined based on a parameterizations (Bond et al, 2007;Streets et al, 2003) that modify the residential sector emissions based on monthly average temperature by province such that emissions peak over winter due to the additional contribution of heating (Archer-Nicholls, Carter, et al, 2016). The temporal activity of these emissions is determined based on a parameterizations (Bond et al, 2007;Streets et al, 2003) that modify the residential sector emissions based on monthly average temperature by province such that emissions peak over winter due to the additional contribution of heating (Archer-Nicholls, Carter, et al, 2016).…”

“…Aerosol emissions from inefficient cookstoves are important contributors to indoor and ambient air pollution, increasing premature mortality in adults and children Chafe et al, 2014;Cohen et al, 2017;Lelieveld et al, 2015;Liu et al, 2016;Naeher et al, 2007). However, aerosol emissions from the residential sector are subject to large uncertainties in their magnitude and composition Carter et al, 2016;Coffey et al, 2017;Secrest et al, 2017;Stockwell et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2009). However, aerosol emissions from the residential sector are subject to large uncertainties in their magnitude and composition Carter et al, 2016;Coffey et al, 2017;Secrest et al, 2017;Stockwell et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2009).…”

“…The model is run for a monthlong case study in January 2014, when emissions due to the residential sector were high due to the contribution of heating emissions (for details on how the contribution of the residential sector to aerosol pollution in China changes through the year, please see Archer-Nicholls, Carter, et al, 2016). The model is run for a monthlong case study in January 2014, when emissions due to the residential sector were high due to the contribution of heating emissions (for details on how the contribution of the residential sector to aerosol pollution in China changes through the year, please see Archer-Nicholls, Carter, et al, 2016).…”