Air Pollution in the Nordic Countries from Biomass Burning in Eastern Europe
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Air pollution in the Nordic countries From biomass burning in Eastern Europe Per Erik Karlsson, Lars Robert Hole, Hans Tømmervik & Elena Kobets /Policy brief Air pollution in the Nordic countries from biomass burning in Eastern Europe – Policy brief Per Erik Karlsson, Lars Hole, Hans Tømmervik & Elena Kobets ISBN 978-92-893-4296-4 (PRINT) ISBN 978-92-893-4297-1 (PDF) http://dx.doi.org/10.6027/ANP2015-766 ANP 2015:766 © Nordic Council of Ministers 2015 Layout: Pernille Sys Hansen, Damp Design Cover photo: imagesubscription.com Photo: norden.org & imagesubscription.com Print: Rosendahls-Schultz Grafisk Copies: 15 Typeface: Meta Paper: Munken Polar 54 7 1 45 TRYKSAG Printed in Denmark This publication has been published with financial support by the Nordic Council of Ministers. However, the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views, policies or recommendations of the Nordic Council of Ministers. www.norden.org/nordpub Nordic co-operation Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture. It plays an important role in European and international collaboration, and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community. Common Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive. Nordic Council of Ministers Ved Stranden 18 DK-1061 Copenhagen K Phone (+45) 3396 0200 www.norden.org Air pollution in the Nordic countries From biomass burning in Eastern Europe Per Erik Karlsson* Lars Robert Hole** Hans Tømmervik*** Elena Kobets† This report describes the effects on air quality and possible vegetation damage in Northern Fennoscandia due to a combination of biomass burning in Eastern Europe and unfavorable weather conditions. A pollution episode in the spring of 2006 is de- scribed in detail. These situations can be avoided in the future with the right political actions. Here, the following recommendations are given to policy makers in Russia, EU and Fennoscandia: ▸ to develop the legislation, law enforcement and management responsibilities of authorities concerning the use of fire on agricultural and pasture lands, as well as on abandoned agricultural lands; ▸ to promote alternatives to agricultural burning through the development of con- sulting service for farmers; ▸ to institute subsidies for supporting the crop production sector in agriculture to apply alternative technologies, following the examples of subsidies in the Europe- an Union. * IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Box 53021, SE-400 14 Gothenburg, Sweden ** The Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Allégaten 70. 5007 Bergen, Norway. *** The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA). Framsenteret, 9296 Tromsø. Norway † Bellona, Russian branch. Summary Polluted air with impacts on human late matter causing health problems agricultural producers are very small health and ecosystems in the Nordic were documented from Edinburgh, in comparison with those available countries, is transported with the Stockholm and southern Finland. in the European Union. There is winds over very long distances. Monitoring with e.g. remote legislation existing in the Russian Large-scale biomass burning is sensing methods have shown that Federation pertaining to the prohibi- an important source for polluted large-scale wildfires in Russia have tion of burning agricultural waste. In air over the northern hemisphere. continued until today and that the practice, the enforcement of the ban During the spring of 2006, biomass area burnt in 2006 was not excep- is very lax, and there is practically burning occurred on approximately tionally high as compared other no control over agricultural fires. 2 Mha (20 000 km2) forest and recent years. However, in order to Furthermore, there are decreased agricultural land in Russia and severely affect the air quality in fire management capabilities as a neighbouring countries. Due to the the Nordic countries, the biomass consequence of the transition of anti-cyclonic high pressure weather burning in Russia have to coincide national economies. situation, this highly polluted air an anti-cyclonic, high pressure The Nordic countries, as well as was transported towards north- weather system over Russia which other EU member countries, have to west across northern Europe, from favours northwards transport. Also, support Russia and neighbouring Scotland to Finland and even all the when the air masses are not subject countries in order to increase their way to Iceland and Svalbard. High ot precipitation, the atmospheic life efforts to restrict the widespread air concentrations of black carbon time of the particles is much longer. wildfires. The most important and ground level ozone as well as In Russia alternative utilizations activities include preventing the high deposition of nitrogen were of agricultural residues are seldom burning of agricultural waste as well measured in forests in mid- and applicable due to the weak econom- as fire-prevention activities in the north Fennoscandia. Furthermore, ic state of agricultural enterprises. forests and providing acquisitions of high air concentrations of particu- Existing governmental subsidies for fire-prevention equipment. 4 1. Introduction 2. Background Emissions from the large-scale Over the past decade, improved re- land. The between-year variation is biomass burning represent an im- mote sensing has permitted a more large. Furthermore, it can be seen portant component of the northern accurate assessment of the annual that the area burnt in 2006 was not hemispheric air pollution. During fires in Russian boreal forest, reveal- exceptionally high as compared to the last decade there have been ing that Russia in general has the e.g. 2003 and 2008. several large-scale biomass burning largest area burned among boreal The extent to which the polluted events in Eastern Europe, in particu- forests. Annual estimates of burned air from Eastern Europe biomass lar in southern Russia, with severe areas over the Russian Federation burning is transported to the consequences for the human health are presented in Figure 1. The mean Nordic countries depend on the of the local population as well as for annually burnt areas range 8-10 Mha prevailing wind directions, which the local ecosystems. for total land and 4-6 Mha for forest in turn depend on the large-scale In addition to local impacts, the large-scale biomass burning also has substantial consequences for /yr Total area burned - Agency 2 m Forest area burned - Agency the air quality and ecosystem im- k pacts in the Nordic countries due to Total area burned - Satellite long-range transport of the polluted Forest area burned - Satellite air. The Nordic council of Ministers (NMR) initiated a study in 2011, NitrOzNor, with the aim to describe the impacts of the eastern Europe biomass burning on the nitrogen deposition to northern ecosystems (Karlsson et al., 2013). Furthermore, NMR initiated this policy-orient- ed article with the aim to give an overview of the impacts on the air Fig. 1. Annual estimates of burned areas over the Russian Federation derived from three different quality and northern ecosystems sources, separated for total land and for forest land. Data for 1996-2006 were from Goldammer et al. caused by the long-range transport (2013), in turn based on Russian Agency reports (Avialesookhrana of Russia) and satellite-derived of polluted air from large-scale bio- data (NOAA AVHRR). The second source based on Agency reports from 2007-13 was from JRC 2014. mass burning. The third source with satellite-derived information from Landsat and MODIS data from 2007-2011 was from Bartalev et al. (2013). The satellite derived information for 2012 was based on Goldammer et al. (2013) and include only the Siberian/Asian part of the Russian Federation. 5 weather situation. Hence, in order to northern North Atlantic and a prom- The situation in 2006 was unprec- severely affect the air quality in the inent anticyclone was located over edented, leading to record high air Nordic countries, large intensities northeastern Europe (Stohl et al., temperatures and pollution levels of biomass burning in Russia have 2007). This pressure configuration in the Norwegian Arctic (Stohl et to coincide with air mass trans- corresponds to a positive phase of al., 2007). However, predictions for port patterns from Russia towards the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) the future of the NAO is still highly northwest, i.e. when there is a weather pattern, which is known uncertain since the NAO is related to anti-cyclonic, high pressure weather to enhance pollution transport into the tracks of Atlantic storms, noisy system over Russia. the Arctic (Eckhardt et al., 2003). mid-latitude phenomenon, and During the pollution episode in Air from the European continent predictions of storminess changes April/May 2006, the Icelandic low was channelled into the Arctic are also currently uncertain (Hurrell, dominated the circulation over the between the two pressure centres. 1995). 6 3. The impacts of the 2006 large scale biomass burning in eastern Europe 3.1 Transport of the polluted air Forcers, SLCF. The polluted air from for ammonia deposition was esti- In May 2006 severely polluted air the large-scale biomass burning that mated to have exceeded 1 kg N/ha. from large scale biomass burning passed over mid-Sweden in the April The normal deposition of inorganic was transported from eastern Euro- and May 2006 contained unusually nitrogen (NO3+NH4) in this region is pean countries towards northwest, high levels of black carbon (Figure 1-2 kg N/ha/yr and the critical load all the way to Spitsbergen (Stohl et 3). for nitrogen deposition to coniferous al., 2007, Figure 2). Snow at a glacier forest is Sweden is set to 5 kg N/ha/ on Spitsbergen became discoloured 3.3 Nitrogen deposition to forests yr (3 kg N/ha/yr in mountain areas).