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Intro -- Asian Atmospheric Pollution: Sources, Characteristics and Impacts -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Contributors -- About the editor -- Foreword -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: Sources of atmospheric pollution in India -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Brick kilns -- 3. Coal-based thermal power plants -- 4. IOC fire of October 29, 2009 -- 5. Forest fires in the Himalayan region -- 6. Air pollution associated with civil aviation -- 7. Crop residue burning -- 8. Dust as source for air pollution -- 9. Diwali festival -- 10. Pollution associated with cyclones -- 11. COVID-19 and air quality -- 12. Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 2: Air pollution: Facts, causes, and impacts -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Sources of air pollution -- 3. Impacts of air pollution -- 3.1. Impacts on ecosystem -- 3.2. Health impacts -- 4. Discussion and conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3: Atmospheric chemistry in Asia: Need of integrated approach -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Air pollution in Asia -- 2.1. South Asia -- 2.2. West Asia -- 2.3. Central Asia -- 2.4. Southeast Asia -- 2.5. East Asia -- 3. Global issues of atmospheric chemistry -- 3.1. Global warming -- 3.2. Climate change -- 3.3. Extreme events -- 3.4. Rising sea level -- 3.5. Ozone depletion -- 3.6. Ecosystem impacts -- 3.7. Urban Heat Island -- 4. Atmospheric chemistry issues in Asia -- 4.1. Acid deposition -- 4.2. Atmospheric dust -- 4.3. Biomass burning -- 4.4. Reactive nitrogen and changing N-cycle -- 4.5. Carbonaceous aerosols -- 4.6. Tropospheric ozone -- 4.7. Brown cloud and haze -- 4.8. Long-range transport/transboundary pollution -- 4.9. Waste burning -- 4.10. Smog -- 4.11. Megacities pollution -- 4.12. Hydroxyl radical and atmospheric chemistry -- 4.13. Bioaerosols -- 4.14. Global dimming and surface cooling -- 5. Conclusion -- References.

COVID-19 is one of the deadly Epidemics that has impacted people living in more than 200 countries. In order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, India observed total lockdown in the first phase for a period of 21 days (24 March–13 May 2020), so that social distancing is maintained. However, this sudden decision severely affected the normal life of people. The air quality improved due to lockdown, some relaxation was given in different cities and within some areas in the city where the people were not affected by COVID-19. In this paper, we discuss results of detailed analysis of trace gases (HCHO, NO2, SO2, CH4, CO and O3) and particulate matter concentration using satellite and ground data in major metropolitan cities of India during 10–31 March, 2020 and compared with the same period in the year 2019, to study the impact of total lockdown. Our analysis suggests, pronounced qualitative changes in HCHO, NO2, SO2, CH4, CO, O3and PM2.5 concentration during complete lockdown period in the month of March 2020. We did not consider the period after 31 March 2020 to avoid influence of anthropogenic sources since the Government made relaxation in the lockdown periods after 31 March 2020.

Abstract. The present paper describes surface (surface air temperature) and atmospheric parameters (relative humidity, surface latent heat flux) over the epicenter (18°27´25´´ N 72°31´59´´ W) of Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010. Our analysis shows pronounced changes in surface and atmospheric parameters few days prior to the main earthquake event. Changes in relative humidity are found from the surface up to an altitude of 500 hPa clearly show atmospheric perturbations associated with the earthquake event. The purpose of this paper is to show complementary nature of the changes observed in surface, atmospheric and meteorological parameters. The total ozone concentration is found to be lowest on the day of earthquake and afterwards found to be increased within a week of earthquake. The present results show existence of coupling between lithosphere-atmosphere associated with the deadly Haiti earthquake.

Mecca and Madinah are two holy cities where millions of people in general, visit throughout the years, during Hajj (Muslim's pilgrimage) time number of people visit these holy cities from different parts of the world is very high. However, the Government of Saudi Arabia only allowed 1000 pilgrims during the 2020 Hajj especially when the world is suffering from COVID-19. In the present paper, a detailed analysis of air quality parameters available from ground measurements have been carried over major cities of Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Madinah, and Jeddah from June to September 2019 and 2020. At Mecca and Jeddah, PM(10), NO(2) and CO concentrations are found to be higher in comparison to stations located close to Madinah. In addition, meteorological parameters, temperature, relative humidity, and wind directions are also analysed to understand changes associated with the meteorological parameters. Our detailed analysis shows a reduction in concentrations of pollutants during the 2020 Hajj, when the lockdown was observed in Saudi Arabia due to COVID-19. During June–August 2020 lockdown period, no major changes in PM(10) concentration was observed since there were frequent dust events were observed. In contrast, our results show 44% reduction in NO(2) (8.77 ppbv in 2019 to 4.97 ppbv in 2020) and 16% reduction in CO (0.85 ppm in 2019 to 0.72 ppm in 2020) concentrations during COVID-19 restrictions. The concentrations of NO(2) and CO do not cause any issue for the air quality as NO(2) and CO Indices lie within the green band (Air quality index 0–50). In Mecca, Madinah and Jeddah, the air quality is generally affected during Hajj, but during 2020, the concentration of particulate matter was influenced by local weather conditions.

Mecca and Madinah are two holy cities where millions of people in general, visit throughout the years, during Hajj (Muslim's pilgrimage) time number of people visit these holy cities from different parts of the world is very high. However, the Government of Saudi Arabia only allowed 1000 pilgrims during the 2020 Hajj especially when the world is suffering from COVID-19. In the present paper, a detailed analysis of air quality parameters available from ground measurements have been carried over major cities of Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Madinah, and Jeddah from June to September 2019 and 2020. At Mecca and Jeddah, PM10, NO2 and CO concentrations are found to be higher in comparison to stations located close to Madinah. In addition, meteorological parameters, temperature, relative humidity, and wind directions are also analysed to understand changes associated with the meteorological parameters. Our detailed analysis shows a reduction in concentrations of pollutants during the 2020 Hajj, when the lockdown was observed in Saudi Arabia due to COVID-19. During June–August 2020 lockdown period, no major changes in PM10 concentration was observed since there were frequent dust events were observed. In contrast, our results show 44% reduction in NO2 (8.77 ppbv in 2019 to 4.97 ppbv in 2020) and 16% reduction in CO (0.85 ppm in 2019 to 0.72 ppm in 2020) concentrations during COVID-19 restrictions. The concentrations of NO2 and CO do not cause any issue for the air quality as NO2 and CO Indices lie within the green band (Air quality index 0–50). In Mecca, Madinah and Jeddah, the air quality is generally affected during Hajj, but during 2020, the concentration of particulate matter was influenced by local weather conditions.

China is one of the largest carbon emitting countries in the world. Numerous strategies have been considered by the Chinese government to mitigate carbon emissions in recent years. Accurate and timely estimation of spatiotemporal variations of city-level carbon emissions is of vital importance for planning of low-carbon strategies. For an assessment of the spatiotemporal variations of city-level carbon emissions in China during the periods 2000–2017, we used nighttime light data as a proxy from two sources: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) data and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS). The results show that cities with low carbon emissions are located in the western and central parts of China. In contrast, cities with high carbon emissions are mainly located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Half of the cities of China have been making eorts to reduce carbon emissions since 2012, and regional disparities among cities are steadily decreasing. Two clusters of high-emission cities located in the BTH and YRD followed two dierent paths of carbon emissions owing to the diverse political status and pillar industries. We conclude that carbon emissions in China have undergone a transformation to decline, but a very slow balancing between the spatial pattern of high-emission versus low-emission regions in China can be presumed.