Takeaways from the 14th Asian Aerosol Conference in Mumbai

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The 14th Asian Aerosol Conference in Mumbai, India, brought together experts to share practical lessons and new ideas for improving air quality.

Key insights

The Aethalometer continues to be one of the most trusted tools for understanding where pollution comes from. It separates traffic emissions from those caused by burning wood and other biomass.

In Southeast Asia, most of the air pollution does not start in cities. Urban areas account for a fraction, only about 10 percent, while the remaining 90 percent comes from the surrounding regions, mainly from household heating and farming. Biomass burning alone makes up nearly 90 percent of human-related emissions.

This shows why addressing regional sources and promoting cleaner practices at home and in agriculture is just as important as city-focused measures.

In Southeast Asia, particularly in India, black carbon and organic carbon remain the main pollutants and pose the greatest risk to human health.

When it comes to health, oxidative potential from organic carbon is far more harmful than many other particle components.

To protect people, we need to measure what truly impacts health, not just what is easiest to track.

These insights remind us why innovation and collaboration matter for cleaner air and healthier communities.

Strong local interest in the aerosol sciences

The 14th Asian Aerosol Conference (AAC 2025) in Mumbai brought together over 400 participants, mostly from India, but also a notable number of international delegates. This impressive turnout reflects the growing interest in aerosol science in the region.

Our booth was well visited thanks to the strong local network already established by our distributor M&G Analyser Systems, creating an excellent platform for meaningful conversations and new connections.

We showcased the Carbonaceous Aerosol Speciation System (CASS) together with the Total Carbon Analyzer TCA08 and the AE36s Aethalometer. These instruments provide real-time insights into carbonaceous aerosols, supporting better air quality monitoring and compliance.

Discussions during the event opened possibilities for future collaborations, and we look forward to building on these connections to support progress in aerosol research across India.

Scientific contributions

We were proud to contribute to the 14th Asian Aerosol Conference (AAC 2025) in Mumbai, where interest in carbonaceous aerosols, black carbon (BC), and brown carbon (BrC) was strong.

Our scientific contributions included:

Lightning talk and poster by Martin Rigler: Exploring carbonaceous aerosol composition and aging using multiwavelength optical absorption and total carbon measurements.
Poster by Asta Gregorič: Insights into the absorption spectral fingerprints of different aerosol types across multiple sites.

Both sessions sparked lively discussions and drew attention from students and researchers. The poster session was particularly well-attended, with many engaging questions that highlighted the relevance of our work.

We are excited to see such enthusiasm for advancing aerosol science and understanding the role of carbonaceous particles in air quality and climate.