Monitoring Solar Radiation UV Exposure in the Comoros

Kévin Lamy, Marion Ranaivombola, Hassan Bencherif, Thierry Portafaix, Mohamed Abdoulwahab Toihir, Kaisa Lakkala, Antti Arola, Jukka Kujanpää, Mikko R. A. Pitkänen and Jean-Maurice Cadet
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Kévin Lamy: LACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France, 97744 Saint-Denis, France
Marion Ranaivombola: LACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France, 97744 Saint-Denis, France
Hassan Bencherif: LACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France, 97744 Saint-Denis, France
Thierry Portafaix: LACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France, 97744 Saint-Denis, France
Mohamed Abdoulwahab Toihir: Agence Nationale de l’Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie, Moroni 84646, Comoros
Kaisa Lakkala: Space and Earth Observation Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, 99600 Sodankylä, Finland
Antti Arola: Climate Research Programme, Finnish Meteorological Institute, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Jukka Kujanpää: Space and Earth Observation Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, 99600 Sodankylä, Finland
Mikko R. A. Pitkänen: Space and Earth Observation Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, 99600 Sodankylä, Finland
Jean-Maurice Cadet: LACy, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR 8105 CNRS, Université de La Réunion, Météo-France, 97744 Saint-Denis, France

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: As part of the UV-Indien project, a station for measuring ultraviolet radiation and the cloud fraction was installed in December 2019 in Moroni, the capital of the Comoros, situated on the west coast of the island of Ngazidja. A ground measurement campaign was also carried out on 12 January 2020 during the ascent of Mount Karthala, located in the center of the island of Ngazidja. In addition, satellite estimates (Ozone Monitoring Instrument and TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) and model outputs (Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service and Tropospheric Ultraviolet Model) were combined for this same region. On the one hand, these different measurements and estimates make it possible to quantify, evaluate, and monitor the health risk linked to exposure to ultraviolet radiation in this region, and, on the other, they help to understand how cloud cover influences the variability of UV-radiation on the ground. The measurements of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument onboard the EOS-AURA satellite, being the longest timeseries of ultraviolet measurements available in this region, make it possible to quantify the meteorological conditions in Moroni and to show that more than 80% of the ultraviolet indices are classified as high and that 60% of these are classified as extreme. The cloud cover measured in Moroni by an All Sky Camera was used to distinguish between the cases of UV index measurements taken under clear or cloudy sky conditions. The ground-based measurements thus made it possible to describe the variability of the diurnal cycle of the UV index and the influence of cloud cover on this parameter. They also permitted the satellite measurements and the results of the simulations to be validated. In clear sky conditions, a relative difference of between 6 and 11% was obtained between satellite or model estimates and ground measurements. The ultraviolet index measurement campaign on Mount Karthala showed maximum one-minute standard erythemal doses at 0.3 SED and very high daily cumulative erythemal doses at more than 80 SED. These very high levels are also observed throughout the year and all skin phototypes can exceed the daily erythemal dose threshold at more than 20 SED.

Keywords: ultraviolet radiation; clouds; tropics; observations; modeling; erythemal doses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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