Influence of synoptic and local atmospheric patterns on PM10 air pollution levels: a model application to Naples (Italy)

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between synoptic/local meteorological patterns and PM10 air pollution\ud levels in the metropolitan area of Naples, Italy. We found that severe air pollution crises occurred when\ud the 850 and 500 hpa geopotential heights and their relative temperatures present maximum values\ud above the city. The most relevant synoptic parameter was the 850 hPa geopotential height, which is\ud located about 1500 m of altitude. We compared local meteorological conditions (specifically wind stress,\ud rain amount and thermal inversion) against the urban air pollution levels from 2009 to 2013. We found\ud several empirical criteria for forecasting high daily PM10 air pollution levels in Naples. Pollution crises\ud occurred when (a) the wind stress was between 1 and 2 m/s, (b) the thermal inversion between two\ud strategic locations was at least 3C/200 m and (c) it did not significantly rain for at least 7 days. Beside\ud these meteorological conditions, severe pollution crises occurred also during festivals when fireworks\ud and bonfires are lighted, and during anomalous breeze conditions and severe fire accidents. Finally, we\ud propose a basic model to predict PM10 concentration levels from local meteorological conditions that\ud can be easily forecast a few days in advance. The synthetic PM10 record predicted by the model was\ud found to correlate with the PM10 observations with a correlation coefficient close to 0.80 with a con-\ud fidence level greater than 99%. The proposed model is expected to provide reliable information to city\ud officials to carry out practical strategies to mitigate air pollution effects. Although the proposed model\ud equation is calibrated on the topographical and meteorological conditions of Naples, it should be easily\ud adaptable to alternative locations

The transport of PM10 over Cape Town during high pollution episodes

“…Globally, annual firework and bonfire displays during festival celebrations have been shown to generate large smoke plumes which result in a sharp increase in local PM10 levels. In Naples (Italy), for instance, high PM10 concentration events are often observed on the 1 st of January and the 17-18 th of the same month (Fortelli et al, 2016). The former is due to PM10 emissions from fireworks for New Year's celebrations, while the latter results from bonfires generated during the Saint Antony Abbot festival (Fortelli et al, 2016).…”

“…In Naples (Italy), for instance, high PM10 concentration events are often observed on the 1 st of January and the 17-18 th of the same month (Fortelli et al, 2016). The former is due to PM10 emissions from fireworks for New Year's celebrations, while the latter results from bonfires generated during the Saint Antony Abbot festival (Fortelli et al, 2016). In India, peak PM10 concentrations are often observed during the annual Diwali celebrations in October/November.…”

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“…Furthermore, the results indicated that the proposed model is efficient to be applied in different countries. Fortelli et al, (2016) investigated the relationship between local metrological variables and PM10 in Naple, IItaly. Afterward, metrological variables are used to forecast PM10 for couple of days.…”

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“…Furthermore, many studies reported increased hospital admittance for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases owing to exposure to dust storms [3,4] . In addition to the public health effects, the agriculture, air traffic, and tourism are also affected [5][6][7] . Dust storms have great environmental effects, including reduction of visibility, soil erosion, ground water salinization, and climatic change.…”