Trend analysis and first time observations of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in South Africa using TROPOMI/Sentinel-5 P data

Abstract

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end extreme poverty and create a healthy, sustainable world by the year 2030. Goal 7 is of interest to this study as it targets access to clean and affordable energy. However, in this study we show that the energy created in South Africa is not necessary clean. South Africa has numerous coal-fired power station located in the Mpumalanga (MP), Gauteng (GP) and Limpopo (LP) provinces. These power station produce tons of toxic pollutants including sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphates (SO4). These pollutants are known to have a negative impact on human health, climate and the environment. In this study we use the sequential Mann-Kendall test to investigate the 39 year (1980–2019) trends of SO2, NO2 and SO4 from these source areas. We also report for the first time on the observations of SO2 and NO2 from the Sentinel-5 P sensor over South Africa. Increasing trends of SO2 were observed in the MP, LP and GP regions. The increase was mostly due to the emissions from coal-fired power stations. Moreover, the increase of SO2 over the years could be due to the increasing demand in electricity, aging power stations and the low quality of coal used. Sentinel-5 P observations of SO2 and NO2 over South Africa were observed in the MP, GP and LP regions as a result of coal-fired power stations. Dispersion of SO2 and NO2 over South Africa were observed in the winter months, while confined SO2 and NO2 in the source region were observed in the summer months.