One of the major sources of tropospheric ozone (O3) precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) is biomass burning. The emissions from the burning not only affect air quality and climate locally, but also on a continental to hemispheric scales through long-range transport. We used NASA’s Global Modeling Initiative Chemistry and Transport Model (GMI-CTM), to quantify the changes in surface ozone over Northern Sub-Saharan Africa (NSSA: 0 – 20N, 20W – 55E), as triggered by biomass burning from different regions. During the winter months (i.e., January), most of the burning is concentrated in the NSSA region while in summer it shifts southward outside the NSSA region. Our analysis reveals that out of the total contribution to surface ozone from biomass burning emissions in the NSSA region, 92% is due to NSSA biomass burning while the remaining 8% is from outside the NSSA. In fact, most (~75%) of the 8% comes from outside the African continent because little to no biomass burning occurs in Africa outside of the NSSA region during this time of year. However, during the summer months (i.e., July), most of the contribution to NSSA surface ozone (96%) is due to burning from outside NSSA. Only 10% of the 96% comes from outside the African continent because during this time most of the burning is from outside the NSSA but within the African continent. In spring (i.e., April) approximately equal percentages of contributions come from within and outside the NSSA region.
| Published in | International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 14, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13 |
| Page(s) | 17-30 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Air Quality, Biomass Burning, Surface Ozone, Northern Sub-Saharan Africa, Chemistry and Transport Model
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APA Style
Damoah, R., Li, X., Ibebuchi, C. C., Fosu-Amankwah, K., Asare, K. (2026). Quantifying Contributions of Biomass Burning to Air Quality in Africa. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 14(1), 17-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13
ACS Style
Damoah, R.; Li, X.; Ibebuchi, C. C.; Fosu-Amankwah, K.; Asare, K. Quantifying Contributions of Biomass Burning to Air Quality in Africa. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2026, 14(1), 17-30. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13,
author = {Richard Damoah and Xiaowen Li and Chibuike Chiedozie Ibebuchi and Kwabena Fosu-Amankwah and Kofi Asare},
title = {Quantifying Contributions of Biomass Burning to Air Quality in Africa},
journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {17-30},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20261401.13},
abstract = {One of the major sources of tropospheric ozone (O3) precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) is biomass burning. The emissions from the burning not only affect air quality and climate locally, but also on a continental to hemispheric scales through long-range transport. We used NASA’s Global Modeling Initiative Chemistry and Transport Model (GMI-CTM), to quantify the changes in surface ozone over Northern Sub-Saharan Africa (NSSA: 0 – 20N, 20W – 55E), as triggered by biomass burning from different regions. During the winter months (i.e., January), most of the burning is concentrated in the NSSA region while in summer it shifts southward outside the NSSA region. Our analysis reveals that out of the total contribution to surface ozone from biomass burning emissions in the NSSA region, 92% is due to NSSA biomass burning while the remaining 8% is from outside the NSSA. In fact, most (~75%) of the 8% comes from outside the African continent because little to no biomass burning occurs in Africa outside of the NSSA region during this time of year. However, during the summer months (i.e., July), most of the contribution to NSSA surface ozone (96%) is due to burning from outside NSSA. Only 10% of the 96% comes from outside the African continent because during this time most of the burning is from outside the NSSA but within the African continent. In spring (i.e., April) approximately equal percentages of contributions come from within and outside the NSSA region.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Quantifying Contributions of Biomass Burning to Air Quality in Africa AU - Richard Damoah AU - Xiaowen Li AU - Chibuike Chiedozie Ibebuchi AU - Kwabena Fosu-Amankwah AU - Kofi Asare Y1 - 2026/01/31 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13 T2 - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis JF - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis JO - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis SP - 17 EP - 30 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7667 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20261401.13 AB - One of the major sources of tropospheric ozone (O3) precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxides (CO), and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) is biomass burning. The emissions from the burning not only affect air quality and climate locally, but also on a continental to hemispheric scales through long-range transport. We used NASA’s Global Modeling Initiative Chemistry and Transport Model (GMI-CTM), to quantify the changes in surface ozone over Northern Sub-Saharan Africa (NSSA: 0 – 20N, 20W – 55E), as triggered by biomass burning from different regions. During the winter months (i.e., January), most of the burning is concentrated in the NSSA region while in summer it shifts southward outside the NSSA region. Our analysis reveals that out of the total contribution to surface ozone from biomass burning emissions in the NSSA region, 92% is due to NSSA biomass burning while the remaining 8% is from outside the NSSA. In fact, most (~75%) of the 8% comes from outside the African continent because little to no biomass burning occurs in Africa outside of the NSSA region during this time of year. However, during the summer months (i.e., July), most of the contribution to NSSA surface ozone (96%) is due to burning from outside NSSA. Only 10% of the 96% comes from outside the African continent because during this time most of the burning is from outside the NSSA but within the African continent. In spring (i.e., April) approximately equal percentages of contributions come from within and outside the NSSA region. VL - 14 IS - 1 ER -
Climate Science Division, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States;Center for Urban and Coastal Climate Science Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States
Climate Science Division, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States;Center for Urban and Coastal Climate Science Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States
Center for Urban and Coastal Climate Science Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States;School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Science, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States
Climate Science Division, Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States;Applied Physics Department, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo, Ghana
Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute, Accra, Ghana
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