GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific Anomaly (°C)
Figure 2.1.7: Land temperature anomalies over Asia, 1915–2015 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3
6 5 4 3 2 1 0
-1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6
Years 1915-2015 trend +1.59°C Source: NOAA 2015 Sulphur dioxide
Sulphur dioxide originates from the sulphur content in fuels such as coal and diesel oil. Its concentration in urban areas is generally low. Data from 1993–2007 showed falling concentrations in Asia, though in some cities concentrations were found to be above WHO air quality guidelines (CAI-Asia Center 2010). Measurements in Jakarta (2003–2013) found a generally low concentration, although a small increase was observed in the annual average (Republic of Indonesia, Ministry of Environment 2014).
54 Ozone
In Northeast Asia, there is a puzzling increase in annual average ozone in spite of a decrease in its precursors – nitrogen oxides and non-methane hydrocarbon. These levels were observed in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea in 1999–2010 (Akimoto et al. 2015) (Figure 2.1.10).
