Air Quality Simulation over Southeast Asia: Impact of Biomass Burning During the ASIA-AQ Campaign

Biomass burning is a significant environmental issue in Southeast Asia, particularly during the dry season (February-April), where it severely degrades air quality and poses health risks to millions. In this study, we utilize the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to simulate air quality during the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) campaign, conducted from February to March 2024. The simulation incorporates the ASIA-AQv3 emission inventory for anthropogenic sources and the VIIRS-based Fire Emission Inventory (VFEI) for biomass burning.

Focusing on Southeast Asia, we evaluate the model performance by comparing its outputs against ground-based, airborne, and satellite observations. Our research provides initial findings on the contributions of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions across multiple Southeast Asian countries, using the Integrated Source Apportionment Method (ISAM) within the CMAQ model. Additionally, we investigate the role of incorporating a plume rise process on the potential long-range transport of smoke, with validation against vertical aerosol extinction from lidar networks and aerosol height products from the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS). We also employ machine learning techniques for downscaling to deliver high resolution information and assess the associated health impacts. This research offers critical insights into the impact of biomass burning on regional air quality and supports the development of strategies to improve air quality across Southeast Asia.