Source contributions to primary and secondary inorganic particulate matter during a severe wintertime PM2.5 pollution episode in Xi'an, China

The complex terrain basin of Amyntaio – Ptolemais – Kozani in Western Macedonia of Greece is an area characterized by increased industrial activity and therefore it demands continuous and assiduous environmental monitoring. A prolonged particulate matter air pollution episode was recorded in the area during November 2009. Basic meteorological aspects are analyzed, during the episode period. Daily and hourly PM10 and PM2.5 concentration measurements were used along with surface and lower atmosphere hourly meteorological parameters from 13 measuring stations. The observational data were supported by data produced by the meteorological component of an air pollution model. The overall analysis showed that the episode was primarily the result of the synoptic setting of the middle and lower troposphere. An Omega blocking pattern which gradually transformed to a high-over-low pattern prevailed over central and southern Europe during the episode’s period. The examination of the vertical wind field in the lower troposphere and appropriate stability indices, revealed a continuous absence of significant convection. The weak horizontal wind field near the surface and the reduced mixing height combined with the lack of synoptic forcing resulted in the trapping of the pollutants in the lower troposphere and the recording of increased airborne particulate matter concentrations. The radical change of the synoptic setting in the first days of December marked the end of the episode.

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Source contributions and potential reductions to health effects of particulate matter in India

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-18-15219-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (20) ◽

pp. 15219-15229 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Hao Guo ◽

Sri Harsha Kota ◽

Kaiyu Chen ◽

Shovan Kumar Sahu ◽

Jianlin Hu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Health Effects ◽

Fine Particulate Matter ◽

Uttar Pradesh ◽

Premature Mortality ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Years Of Life Lost ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Source Contributions

Abstract. Health effects of exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in India were estimated in this study based on a source-oriented version of the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Contributions of different sources to premature mortality and years of life lost (YLL) were quantified in 2015. Premature mortality due to cerebrovascular disease (CEVD) was the highest in India (0.44 million), followed by ischaemic heart disease (IHD, 0.40 million), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 0.18 million), and lung cancer (LC, 0.01 million), with a total of 1.04 million deaths. The states with highest premature mortality were Uttar Pradesh (0.23 million), Bihar (0.12 million), and West Bengal (0.10 million). The highest total YLL was 2 years in Delhi, and the Indo-Gangetic plains and eastern India had higher YLL (∼1 years) than other regions. The residential sector was the largest contributor to PM2.5 concentrations (∼40 µg m−3), total premature mortality (0.58 million), and YLL (∼0.2 years). Other important sources included industry (∼20 µg m−3), agriculture (∼10 µg m−3), and energy (∼5 µg m−3) with their national averaged contributions of 0.21, 0.12, and 0.07 million to premature mortality, and 0.12, 0.1, and 0.05 years to YLL. Reducing PM2.5 concentrations would lead to a significant reduction of premature mortality and YLL. For example, premature mortality in Uttar Pradesh (including Delhi) due to PM2.5 exposures would be reduced by 79 % and YLL would be reduced by 83 % when reducing PM2.5 concentrations to 10 µg m−3.

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