Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment
Air quality in urban areas is deteriorating over time with the increased pollutant distribution levels mainly caused due to anthropogenic activities. In addition, these pollutant distribution levels may relate to changing meteorological conditions. However, the relationships were not researched in-d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Meteorology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/5628911 |
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| author | Sherly Shelton Gayathri Liyanage Sanduni Jayasekara Buddhi Pushpawela Upaka Rathnayake Akila Jayasundara Lesty Dias Jayasooriya |
| author_facet | Sherly Shelton Gayathri Liyanage Sanduni Jayasekara Buddhi Pushpawela Upaka Rathnayake Akila Jayasundara Lesty Dias Jayasooriya |
| author_sort | Sherly Shelton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Air quality in urban areas is deteriorating over time with the increased pollutant distribution levels mainly caused due to anthropogenic activities. In addition, these pollutant distribution levels may relate to changing meteorological conditions. However, the relationships were not researched in-depth in the context of Sri Lanka, a country with a significant impact on climate change. The main objective of this study was to provide a broader perspective on the seasonal variation of tiny particles in air (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in two urban cities (Colombo and Kandy) in Sri Lanka over 3 years period (2018–2021) and the possible relationships between air pollution and meteorological variables. Results show that all the aforementioned pollutants except O3 consistently depict two peaks during the day, one in the morning (∼07:00–09:00 local time) and the other in the evening (∼18:00–20:00 local time). These peaks coincided with the traffic jams observed in both cities. The results further revealed that the concentration of all pollutants has significant seasonal variations. Compared to two monsoon seasons, the highest daily average PM2.5 (31.2 μg/m3), PM10 (49.5 μg/m3), NO2 (18.9 ppb), CO (717.5 ppb), O3 (18.5 ppb), and SO2 (9.4 ppb) concentrations in Colombo are recorded during northeast monsoon (NEM) seasons while contrast pattern is observed in Kandy. In addition, it was found that wind speed with its direction is the most influencing factor for the pollutant concentration except for SO2 and O3 in two cities, and this is irrespective of the season. This study’s findings contribute to understanding the seasonality of ambient air quality and the relationship between meteorological factors and air pollutants. These findings ultimately lead to designing and implementing season-specific control strategies to achieve air pollution reduction at a regional scale. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd16e9be235b4c5daeeedc9a1fad00e7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-9317 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Meteorology |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd16e9be235b4c5daeeedc9a1fad00e72025-02-03T11:54:05ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93172022-01-01202210.1155/2022/5628911Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban EnvironmentSherly Shelton0Gayathri Liyanage1Sanduni Jayasekara2Buddhi Pushpawela3Upaka Rathnayake4Akila Jayasundara5Lesty Dias Jayasooriya6Department of Earth and Atmospheric SciencesIndustrial Technology InstituteIndustrial Technology InstituteDepartment of Physics and AstronomyDepartment of Civil EngineeringAir Resource Management and Monitoring UnitAir Resource Management and Monitoring UnitAir quality in urban areas is deteriorating over time with the increased pollutant distribution levels mainly caused due to anthropogenic activities. In addition, these pollutant distribution levels may relate to changing meteorological conditions. However, the relationships were not researched in-depth in the context of Sri Lanka, a country with a significant impact on climate change. The main objective of this study was to provide a broader perspective on the seasonal variation of tiny particles in air (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in two urban cities (Colombo and Kandy) in Sri Lanka over 3 years period (2018–2021) and the possible relationships between air pollution and meteorological variables. Results show that all the aforementioned pollutants except O3 consistently depict two peaks during the day, one in the morning (∼07:00–09:00 local time) and the other in the evening (∼18:00–20:00 local time). These peaks coincided with the traffic jams observed in both cities. The results further revealed that the concentration of all pollutants has significant seasonal variations. Compared to two monsoon seasons, the highest daily average PM2.5 (31.2 μg/m3), PM10 (49.5 μg/m3), NO2 (18.9 ppb), CO (717.5 ppb), O3 (18.5 ppb), and SO2 (9.4 ppb) concentrations in Colombo are recorded during northeast monsoon (NEM) seasons while contrast pattern is observed in Kandy. In addition, it was found that wind speed with its direction is the most influencing factor for the pollutant concentration except for SO2 and O3 in two cities, and this is irrespective of the season. This study’s findings contribute to understanding the seasonality of ambient air quality and the relationship between meteorological factors and air pollutants. These findings ultimately lead to designing and implementing season-specific control strategies to achieve air pollution reduction at a regional scale.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/5628911 |
| spellingShingle | Sherly Shelton Gayathri Liyanage Sanduni Jayasekara Buddhi Pushpawela Upaka Rathnayake Akila Jayasundara Lesty Dias Jayasooriya Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment Advances in Meteorology |
| title | Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment |
| title_full | Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment |
| title_short | Seasonal Variability of Air Pollutants and Their Relationships to Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Environment |
| title_sort | seasonal variability of air pollutants and their relationships to meteorological parameters in an urban environment |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2022/5628911 |
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