Happy new year! On September 12, 2019, according to the Ethiopian calendar, a new year (2012 according to the Ethiopian calendar) has started. While in Ethiopia a change of years is not (yet) celebrated with much fireworks, it is thoroughly celebrated with delicious meals on New Year’s day. Of course, these meals will be prepared on the day before. Many of these meals are cooked on biomass fuel. This was visible on our Home Measurements location (see this project page for more information).
PM2.5 measurements
At the Home Measurements location PM2.5 is measured since August 23. The below graph shows half-hour averages between 17:00 and 2:00 (the next day) for August 23 – September 10, versus September 11 (New Year’s Eve).
On New Year's Eve the average concentration between 17:00 - 2:00 was 64 µg/m3, while on the other evenings this ranged from 10 - 39 µg/m3. Half-hour average PM2.5 concentrations were significantly higher on New Year's Eve than on any other evening (t(df:27)>=2.356, p<=0.013).
Doro Wot
The higher concentrations counted for something: on New Year's day we could enjoy delicious Doro Wot (chicken stew) at some of Arba Minch's most welcoming family homes.