Air Quality in Riga and Its Improvement Options

Air Quality in Riga and Its Improvement Options Air quality in the city of Riga is evaluated from direct monitoring results and from accounting registered air pollutants in the city. It is concluded that from all air polluting substances listed in the European Commission directives, only nitrogen dioxide NO2 and particulate matter PM10 exceed the limits. In assessing the projected measures to improve air quality in Riga, it can be concluded that the implementation of cleaner fuels and improvements in energy efficiency of household and industrial sectors will decrease particle pollution, but measures in the transport sector will also contribute to reducing air pollution from nitrogen oxides.

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Air Pollution Monitoring Around Residential and Transportation Sector Locations in Lagos Mainland

Journal of Health and Pollution ◽

10.5696/2156-9614-8.19.180903 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (19) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Henry E. Obanya ◽

Nnamdi H. Amaeze ◽

Olusola Togunde ◽

Adebayo A. Otitoloju

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Quality Parameters ◽

Transport Sector ◽

Urban Air ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Pm10 And Pm2.5 ◽

Bus Stops

Background. Industrialization and urbanization, while associated with increased productivity, are also potential causes of increased air pollution. Urban air quality has the potential to affect the health and wellbeing of residents of urban areas. Objectives. The present study investigated the levels of air pollutants around residential areas and transport sector locations (TSLs) in Lagos, Nigeria. Residential areas were defined as areas around inner streets and living quarters, while TSLs included busy roads, dual carriage roads, bus stops and major car parks in the Yaba Local Council Development Area of Lagos Mainland, Lagos, Nigeria. Methods. Air quality parameters were assessed in situ using calibrated hand-held devices at selected residential and TSLs. Each sampling location was geo-referenced and concentrations of the various parameters were used to plot distribution maps. Results. The findings from the monitoring exercise showed that levels of the measured air pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), sulphur dioxide (SO2), noise, temperature and humidity were within the ranges of 1.00 – 6.0 5.97 ppm, 43.345.2 – 127.2159.7 μg/m3, 20.3 23.25 – 69.058.16 μg/m3, 0.0 0 – 0.20.17 ppm, 47.7 50 - 65 70.1 dB, 26.2227.2 – 35.536.7°C and 57.0157.6 – 91.8492.3%, respectively, around residential areas. Values of the measured air pollutants at the TSLs ranged as follows: 2.011.0 – 5.397.7 ppm, 103.3360.7 – 179.77404.0 μg/m3, 50.2832.3 – 91.01184.0 μg/m3, 0.00 – 0.40 ppm, 64.2153.1 – 71.1376.3 dB, 27.1826.2 –27.9332.6°C and 60.3660.0 – 75.0178.0%, respectively. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), nitrogen oxide (NO2) were below detection limits in both sampling locations while volatile organic carbons (VOCs) ranged from 0.00 – 0.10 ppm in the TSLs. Discussion. Most assessed air quality parameters were significantly higher around bus stops (P < 0.05), except for CO and humidity. In addition, PM10 and PM2.5 were much higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The results indicated that the quality of air (particulate matter) in the study area was poor, especially in the TSLs. Conclusions. The Federal Ministry of Environment, through its relevant agencies, must create policies to address urban air pollution, taking into consideration long term exposures and people that are most vulnerable within the population. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Diurnal, Temporal and Spatial Variations of Main Air Pollutants Before and during Emergency Lockdown in the City of Novi Sad (Serbia)

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11031212 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 1212

Author(s):

Miloš Davidović ◽

Sonja Dmitrašinović ◽

Maja Jovanović ◽

Jelena Radonić ◽

Milena Jovašević-Stojanović

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Low Cost ◽

The State ◽

State Of Emergency ◽

Source Profiles ◽

Novi Sad ◽

The City

Changes in air pollution in the region of the city of Novi Sad due to the COVID-19 induced state of emergency were evaluated while using data from permanently operating air quality monitoring stations belonging to the national, regional, and local networks, as well as ad hoc deployed low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors. The low-cost sensors were collocated with reference gravimetric pumps. The starting idea for this research was to determine if and to what extent a massive change of anthropogenic activities introduced by lockdown could be observed in main air pollutants levels. An analysis of the data showed that fine and coarse particulate matter, as well as SO2 levels, did not change noticeably, compared to the pre-lockdown period. Isolated larger peaks in PM pollution were traced back to the Aralkum Desert episode. The reduced movement of vehicles and reduced industrial and construction activities during the lockdown in Novi Sad led to a reduction and a more uniform profile of the PM2.5 levels during the period between morning and afternoon air pollution peak, approximately during typical working hours. Daily profiles of NO2, NO, and NOX during the state of emergency proved lower levels during most hours of the day, due to restrictions on vehicular movement. CO during the state of the emergency mainly exhibited a lower level during night. Pollutants having transportation-dominated source profiles exhibited a decrease in level, while pollutants with domestic heating source profiles mostly exhibited a constant level. Considering local sources in Novi Sad, slight to moderate air quality improvement was observed after the lockdown as compared with days before. Furthermore, PM low-cost sensors’ usefulness in air quality assessment was confirmed, as they increase spatial resolution, but it is necessary to calibrate them at the deployment location.

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Contribution of Local and Transboundary Air Pollution to the Urban Air Quality of Fukuoka, Japan

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12040431 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 431

Author(s):

Ayako Yoshino ◽

Akinori Takami ◽

Keiichiro Hara ◽

Chiharu Nishita-Hara ◽

Masahiko Hayashi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Gaseous Species ◽

Transboundary Air Pollution ◽

Local Air Pollution ◽

The City

Transboundary air pollution (TAP) and local air pollution (LAP) influence the air quality of urban areas. Fukuoka, located on the west side of Japan and affected by TAP from the Asian continent, is a unique example for understanding the contribution of LAP and TAP. Gaseous species and particulate matter (PM) were measured for approximately three weeks in Fukuoka in the winter of 2018. We classified two distinctive periods, LAP and TAP, based on wind speed. The classification was supported by variations in the concentration of gaseous species and by backward trajectories. Most air pollutants, including NOx and PM, were high in the LAP period and low in the TAP period. However, ozone was the exception. Therefore, our findings suggest that reducing local emissions is necessary. Ozone was higher in the TAP period, and the variation in ozone concentration was relatively small, indicating that ozone was produced outside of the city and transported to Fukuoka. Thus, air pollutants must also be reduced at a regional scale, including in China.

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Changes of air pollutants’ concentrations in selected Romanian cities during the pandemic year 2020

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1800 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gabriela Iorga ◽

George-Bogdan Burghelea

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

European Commission ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Meteorological Parameters ◽

Dust Particles ◽

Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽

Pollution Level ◽

Data Set ◽

Air Mass

Present research contributes to scientific knowledge concerning spatial and temporal variation of major air pollutants with high resolution at the country scale bringing statistical information on concentrations of NOx, O3, CO, SO2 and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter below 10&#160;&#956;m (PM10) and below 2.5&#160;&#956;m (PM2.5) during the pandemic year 2020 using an observational data set from the Romanian National Air Quality Network in seven selected cities spread out over the country. These cities have different level of development, play regional roles, might have potential influence at European scale and they are expected to be impacted by different pollution sources. Among them, three cities (Bucharest, Bra&#537;ov, Ia&#537;i) appear frequently on the list of the European Commission with reference to the infringement procedure that the European Commission launched against Romania in the period 2007-2020 regarding air quality.Air pollutant data was complemented with local meteorological parameters at each site (atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, temperature, global solar radiation, wind speed and direction). Statistics of air pollutants provide us with an overview of air pollution in main Romanian cities.&#160; Correlations between meteorological parameters and ambient pollutant levels were analyzed. Lowest air pollution levels were measured during the lockdown period in spring, as main traffic and non-essential activities were severely restricted. Among exceptions were the construction activities that were not interrupted. During 2020, some of selected cities experienced few pollution episodes which were due to dust transport from Sahara desert. However, in Bucharest metropolitan area, some cases with high pollution level were found correlated with local anthropogenic activity namely, waste incinerations. Air mass origins were investigated for 72 hours back by computing the air mass backward trajectories using the HYSPLIT model. Dust load and spatial distribution of the aerosol optical depth with BSC-DREAM8b v2.0 and NMBM/BSC-Dust models showed the area with dust particles transport during the dust events.The obtained results are important for investigations of sources of air pollution and for modeling of air quality.&#160;Acknowledgment:The research leading to these results has received funding from the NO Grants 2014-2021, under Project contract no. 31/2020, EEA-RO-NO-2019-0423 project. NOAA Air Resources Laboratory for HYSPLIT transport model, available at READY website https://www.ready.noaa.gov &#160;and the Barcelona dust forecast center for BSC-DREAM8b and NMBM/BSC-Dust models, available at: &#160;https://ess.bsc.es/bsc-dust-daily-forecast are also acknowledged. The data regarding ground-based air pollution and meteorology by site was extracted from the public available Romanian National Air Quality Database, www.calitateaer.ro.

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Prayagraj: Air Pollution Profile and Policy Recommendations

Current World Environment ◽

10.12944/cwe.15.3.19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 560-573

Author(s):

Sugandh Kumar Choudhary

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Nitrogen Dioxide ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Critical Zone ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Time Period ◽

The City ◽

Pollution Profile

Air pollution is the fifth leading risk factor behind theworld – wide mortality. Ever growing population size feeding industrial activity through demand channel, vehicular pollution accompanied by rapid urbanization and burning of fossil fuels pose a serious threat to clean air. Some major air pollutants under study in the city of Prayagraj are Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Particulate Matter (PM10) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2). Pollution profile of the city localityi.e. Rambagh, Johnstonganj, Alopibagh, Crossing Mahalakshmi talkies and Bharat Yantra Nigam are studied. PM10 level of exposure is serious in Crossing Mahalakshmi talkiesand Alopibagh area as exposure to very high level in the range of 250 – 400 µg/m3 occurs for the longest duration of time. Alopibagh, Johnstonganj and Rambagh shows critical level of Nitrogen Dioxide indicating higher vehicular movement in these areas. Trend wise, SO2 component has spiked above 12 µg/m3 at Rambagh, Johnstonganj and Alopibagh during the onset of winters season in 2016. Similar phenomenon was seen at Bharat Yantra Nigam and Crossing Mahalakshmi talkies during winter season of 2019. Arrival of monsoon tend to lower pollutants content in the outdoor ambient air quality. Overall air quality is in critical zone at Alopibagh for 45 per cent of the time period followed by Johnstonganj. Crossing Mahalakshmi talkies and Bharat Yantra Nigamshows critical air quality for more than 60 per cent of the time period which calls for urgent action to prevent them from entering the critical zone. Overall air quality of Prayagraj is range bound with air pollutants improve during the monsoon season. However, improvement in air quality has reduced in the last two years as fall in air pollutants is less in 2018 and 2019 monsoon compared to previous two years. The findings of the paper will help the administration, municipal corporation and various stake holders of the city to take targeted measures locality wise towards pollution control depending upon pollutants concentration and exposure area – wise. It will also raise public awareness about pollutant levels in their area.

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The efficiency of the fare-free public transport for the air pollution reduction

Transportation Overview - Przeglad Komunikacyjny ◽

10.35117/a_eng_20_06-07-08_03 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 (8) ◽

pp. 9-15

Author(s):

Mikulski Maciej

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Carbon Monoxide ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Nitrogen Oxide ◽

Public Transport ◽

Pollution Reduction ◽

Heating Season ◽

Before And After ◽

The City

The article presents the problem of air pollution in polish cities on the example of Cracow. The focus was on one of the corrective actions taken by the city – free-fare public transport during high air pollution. Changes in the city's approach to this service since 2015 and consequences for the city budget were presented. Then, the efficiency of free-fare public transport in attracting new passengers was considered. The example of the Nysa town was cited, which introduced such permission for car drivers, but withdrew it three years later. In the next step, the concentration of air pollution before and after the activation of free-fare public transport in the heating season 2018/2019 was analyzed. Particulate matter PM10, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide were taken into account. There was no constant relationship between the changes in the level of these pollutants in the air and the full-paid (or fare-free) public transport. There is also no reason for the need to change parameters based on witch the fare-free public transport is activated. Finally, the necessity of further efforts of central and local authorities to improve air quality as well as further research on sources of air pollution and efficiency of undertaken actions was emphasized. Keywords: fare-free public transport, air pollution, environmental protection

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A Literature Review on Prediction of Air Quality Index and Forecasting Ambient Air Pollutants using Machine Learning Algorithms

Volume 5 - 2020, Issue 9 - September - International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology ◽

10.38124/ijisrt20aug683 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (8) ◽

pp. 1148-1152

Author(s):

Radhika M. Patil ◽

Dr. H. T. Dinde ◽

Sonali. K. Powar

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Literature Review ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Quality Index ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Air Quality Index ◽

Machine Learning Algorithms ◽

Ambient Air Pollutants

Day by day the air pollution becomes serious concern in India as well as in overall world. Proper or accurate prediction or forecast of Air Quality or the concentration level of other Ambient air pollutants such as Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Particulate Matter having diameter less than 10µ, Particulate Matter having diameter less than 2.5µ, Ozone, etc. is very important because impact of these factors on human health becomes severe. This literature review focuses on the various techniques used for prediction or modelling of Air Quality Index (AQI) and forecasting of future concentration levels of pollutants that may cause the air pollution so that governing bodies can take the actions to reduce the pollution.

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Air quality in Delhi during the Commonwealth Games

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-14-10619-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (19) ◽

pp. 10619-10630 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

P. Marrapu ◽

Y. Cheng ◽

G. Beig ◽

S. Sahu ◽

R. Srinivas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Transport Sector ◽

Ozone Pollution ◽

Model Errors ◽

Mean Values ◽

Industrial Sectors ◽

Pm2.5 And Pm10 ◽

Commonwealth Games ◽

Air Quality Forecasting

Abstract. Air quality during the Commonwealth Games (CWG, held in Delhi in October 2010) is analyzed using a new air quality forecasting system established for the games. The CWG stimulated enhanced efforts to monitor and model air quality in the region. The air quality of Delhi during the CWG had high levels of particles with mean values of PM2.5 and PM10 at the venues of 111 and 238 μg m−3, respectively. Black carbon (BC) accounted for ~ 10% of the PM2.5 mass. It is shown that BC, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations are well predicted, but with positive biases of ~ 25%. The diurnal variations are also well captured, with both the observations and the modeled values showing nighttime maxima and daytime minima. A new emissions inventory, developed as part of this air quality forecasting initiative, is evaluated by comparing the observed and predicted species-species correlations (i.e., BC : CO; BC : PM2.5; PM2.5 : PM10). Assuming that the observations at these sites are representative and that all the model errors are associated with the emissions, then the modeled concentrations and slopes can be made consistent by scaling the emissions by 0.6 for NOx, 2 for CO, and 0.7 for BC, PM2.5, and PM10. The emission estimates for particles are remarkably good considering the uncertainty in the estimates due to the diverse spread of activities and technologies that take place in Delhi and the rapid rates of change. The contribution of various emission sectors including transportation, power, domestic and industry to surface concentrations are also estimated. Transport, domestic and industrial sectors all make significant contributions to PM levels in Delhi, and the sectoral contributions vary spatially within the city. Ozone levels in Delhi are elevated, with hourly values sometimes exceeding 100 ppb. The continued growth of the transport sector is expected to make ozone pollution a more pressing air pollution problem in Delhi. The sector analysis provides useful inputs into the design of strategies to reduce air pollution levels in Delhi. The contribution for sources outside of Delhi on Delhi air quality range from ~ 25% for BC and PM to ~ 60% for day time ozone. The significant contributions from non-Delhi sources indicates that in Delhi (as has been show elsewhere) these strategies will also need a more regional perspective.

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Air Pollution Analysis during the Lockdown on the City of Milan

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr9101692 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 1692

Author(s):

Nicoletta Lotrecchiano ◽

Paolo Trucillo ◽

Diego Barletta ◽

Massimo Poletto ◽

Daniele Sofia

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Sudden Change ◽

Monitoring Network ◽

Point Of View ◽

Transport Sector ◽

Atmospheric Particulates ◽

Dust Events ◽

The City

From February 2020, the progressive adoption of measures to contain coronavirus’s contagion has resulted in a sudden change in anthropogenic activities in Italy, especially in Lombardy. From a scientific point of view, this situation represents a unique laboratory for understanding and predicting the consequences of specific measures aimed at improving air quality. In this work, the lockdown effect on Milan’s (Italy) air quality was analyzed. The PM10 and PM2.5 values were measured by the ARPA Lombardia, and the real-time on-road (ROM) air quality monitoring network indicates the seasonality of these pollutants, which typically record the highest values in the coldest months of the year. The 10-year particulate matter concentrations analysis shows a PM10 reduction of 35% from 2010 to 2020. March 2020 data analysis shows an alternation of days with higher and lower particulate matter concentrations; values decrease in pollutants concentrations of 16%, respective to 2018. The complexity of the phenomena related to the atmospheric particulates formation, transport, and accumulation is highlighted by some circumstances, such as the Sahara dust events. The study showed that the trend of a general pollutant concentration reduction should be attributed to the decrease in emissions (specifically, from the transport sector) from the variation of meteorological and environmental conditions.

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Current State of Indoor Air Phytoremediation Using Potted Plants and Green Walls

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12040473 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 473

Author(s):

Samaneh Bandehali ◽

Taghi Miri ◽

Helen Onyeaka ◽

Prashant Kumar

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Human Health ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Air Pollutants ◽

Potted Plants ◽

Green Walls ◽

Indoor Air Pollutants

Urban civilization has a high impact on the environment and human health. The pollution level of indoor air can be 2–5 times higher than the outdoor air pollution, and sometimes it reaches up to 100 times or more in natural/mechanical ventilated buildings. Even though people spend about 90% of their time indoors, the importance of indoor air quality is less noticed. Indoor air pollution can be treated with techniques such as chemical purification, ventilation, isolation, and removing pollutions by plants (phytoremediation). Among these techniques, phytoremediation is not given proper attention and, therefore, is the focus of our review paper. Phytoremediation is an affordable and more environmentally friendly means to purify polluted indoor air. Furthermore, studies show that indoor plants can be used to regulate building temperature, decrease noise levels, and alleviate social stress. Sources of indoor air pollutants and their impact on human health are briefly discussed in this paper. The available literature on phytoremediation, including experimental works for removing volatile organic compound (VOC) and particulate matter from the indoor air and associated challenges and opportunities, are reviewed. Phytoremediation of indoor air depends on the physical properties of plants such as interfacial areas, the moisture content, and the type (hydrophobicity) as well as pollutant characteristics such as the size of particulate matter (PM). A comprehensive summary of plant species that can remove pollutants such as VOCs and PM is provided. Sources of indoor air pollutants, as well as their impact on human health, are described. Phytoremediation and its mechanism of cleaning indoor air are discussed. The potential role of green walls and potted-plants for improving indoor air quality is examined. A list of plant species suitable for indoor air phytoremediation is proposed. This review will help in making informed decisions about integrating plants into the interior building design.

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