Mr. Chifundo Tenthani

Mr. Chifundo Tenthani

Co-author

Physics & Biochemical Sciences

12 publications

Chifundo Tenthani is a Renewable Energy scientist with a MSc. in Renewable Energy from Makerere University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Technology (Environmental Physics) from the University of Malawi.
Chifundo is a member of the team that won the DAAD In-Country/In-...

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Air quality assessment of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide in Blantyre Malawi: A statistical approach to a stationary environmental monitoring system data.

Journal Article
Published 1 year ago, 489 views
Author
Assoc. Prof. Harold Wilson Tumwitike Mapoma
Co-authors
Dr. Madalitso Tsakama, Mr. Chifundo Tenthani, Kosamu, I.B.M.
Abstract
Air quality in urban areas is a cause of concern because of increased industrial activities that contribute to large quantities of emissions. The study assess levels and variations of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in Blantyre, Malawi using a stationary environmental monitoring station (EMS). Results show that CO level (2.47 ± 1.23 mg m-3) were below the Malawian limit value (10.31 mg m-3). Although, NO2 (4.02 ± 2.47 mg m-3) and SO2 (8.58 ± 2.88 mg m-3) were significantly higher than allowable Malawian Standards (0.52 and 0.23 mg m-3, respectively). Discernible variations in hourly, diurnal, monthly and seasonal CO, SO2 and NO2 were apparent. Independent t-test confirmed that day time values were higher than those at night (p < 0.05). Thus, variations in local weather affect the disparity in hourly and diurnal values. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed significant variations in monthly observations. Moreover, independent t-test showed that wet season CO (2.32 mg m-3), SO2 (5.10 mg m-3) and NO2 (9.41 mg m-3) levels were higher than dry season values (CO = 2.32 mg m-3; SO2 = 3.42 mg m-3; NO2 = 8.13 mg m-3). A hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) divided the 10 months into three groups based on distribution of CO, SO2 and NO2, air temperature, wind speed and wind direction. Furthermore, factor analysis (FA) showed that air temperature had significant contribution to variations in mean values of CO, SO2 and NO2 for the entire study period. The study shows a need for constant urban air quality monitoring in Blantyre and all urban areas in Malawi. It is recommended that the experimental site widen the scope of the study by utilizing the flexibility of the EMS.
Year of Publication
2014
Journal Name
Atmospheric Environment
Volume
8
Issue
6
Page Numbers
330-343
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