{"id":33414,"date":"2025-12-19T23:31:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=33414"},"modified":"2025-12-19T23:32:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:47:39","slug":"icimod-finds-ethiopian-volcano-barely-affected-south-asias-air-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/icimod-finds-ethiopian-volcano-barely-affected-south-asias-air-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"ICIMOD finds Ethiopian volcano barely affected South Asia\u2019s air pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Time series (data collected at regular time intervals allowing patterns, trends, and changes to be analysed over time) captured from the European Space Agency\u2019s TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) shows sulphur dioxide released from the Hayli Gubbi volcano, transported across the Gulf and parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills between 23\u201327 November of this year. Source: Copernicus, European Space Agency<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kathmandu\u00a0<\/strong>– A recent scientific study has determined that Ethiopia\u2019s major volcanic eruption had no measurable effect on South Asia\u2019s hazardous air pollution levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) concludes that severe air pollution across South Asian cities, from Lahore to Dhaka, is primarily generated by local and regional sources compounded by prevailing meteorological patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eruption of Ethiopia\u2019s Hayli Gubbi volcano released Sulphur dioxide (SO2), a gas that can be a hazardous air pollutant with severe effects on health and the environment. However, satellite tracking by ICIMOD scientists revealed the gas plume travelled high in the atmosphere, passing over the region without mixing down to ground level where people breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile we tracked the volcanic plume moving eastwards across parts of Asia, our data clearly shows it moved at high altitude,\u201d said Ashish Tiwari, Air Lead at ICIMOD. It had little to no impact on the severe pollution already present at ground level across South Asia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists used satellite measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), a key indicator of how many particles are in the air column to support this finding. The data showed no significant spike in pollution following the eruption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pollution levels were already high before the eruption and remained constantly high after it,\u201dexplained Abhishek Kumar Upadhyay, Energy and Emission Specialist at ICIMOD. The volcano did not add to the public health crisis happening on our streets.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis spotlights the region\u2019s ongoing air quality emergency. In the same period, major cities  including Islamabad, Lahore, Delhi, Kathmandu, Thimphu, and Dhaka all experienced dangerous peaks in PM2.5, the tiny particles most harmful to health. Experts point to a combination of calm winds, cool temperatures, and emissions from transport, industry, agriculture, and domestic sources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalm weather creates a \u2018lid\u2019 over the region, trapping pollution from local sources close to the ground,\u201d said Arshini Saikia, Air Quality Modelling Analyst at ICIMOD. \u201cOur October data shows  an increase in PM2.5, PM10, and carbon monoxide, all linked to human activity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent monitoring data reveals the scale of the challenge: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Dhaka daily PM2.5 levels exceeded WHO health guidelines on 7 days between August and October, with PM10 levels exceeding guidelines  on 24 days. The concentration of an air pollutant is given in micrograms per cubic metre of air or \u00b5g\/m3; WHO\u2019s 24-hour guideline is 15 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Bhutan has the cleanest air in the region, winter PM2.5 levels in its capital,  Thimphu, regularly soar past 60 \u03bcg\/m3 . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathmandu saw a brief improvement in October due to heavy rains from the Cyclone Montha, but pollution quickly returned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings reinforce the critical importance of local and national action. Countries like Nepal and Bhutan have  recently launched their National Clean Air Action Plans, focusing on reducing emissions to protect public health.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu\u00a0– A recent scientific study has determined that Ethiopia\u2019s major volcanic eruption had no measurable effect on South Asia\u2019s hazardous air pollution levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution-200x200.gif",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution-95x65.gif",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution.gif",508,286,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution-96x96.gif",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/air-pllution-150x84.gif",150,84,true]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"Environment<\/a>","tag_info":"Environment","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33414"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33418,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33414\/revisions\/33418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}