Abstract
An increasing trend in ground‐level ozone (O3) concentrations has recently been recognized in Japan, although concentrations of ozone precursors, nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) have decreased. In this paper, the relationship between meteorological factors (temperature and wind speed) and ground‐level ozone concentrations in the summer over the central Kanto area of Japan was examined using both statistical analyses and numerical models. The Fifth‐Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model were employed in this study. It was found that there is a close relationship between meteorological conditions and ground‐level ozone concentrations over the central Kanto area. In summer, up to 84% of the long‐term variation in peak ozone concentrations may be accounted for by changes in the seasonally averaged daily maximum temperature and seasonally averaged wind speed, while about 70% of the recent short‐term variation in peak ozone depends on the daily maximum temperature and the daily averaged wind speed. The results of numerical simulations also indicate that urban heat island (UHI) phenomena can play an important role in the formation of high ozone concentrations in this area.
Highlights
A high concentration of ground level ozone has been recognized as a harmful pollutant for decades because it is the primary ingredient in photochemical smog and has detrimental effects on human health and the environment [1]
The seasonally averaged daily maximum ozone concentration was the dependent variable in the multiple regression analysis, while seasonally averaged daily maximum temperature and seasonally averaged wind speed were used as independent variables
The temperature difference between the land and sea is substantial in such an instance, the sea breeze cannot pass through the city due to the persistence of urban heat island (UHI)
Summary
A high concentration of ground level ozone has been recognized as a harmful pollutant for decades because it is the primary ingredient in photochemical smog and has detrimental effects on human health and the environment [1]. It is evident that both NOx and NMHCs show a decreasing tendency, while ozone concentrations show an increasing tendency for the last two decades. Possible reasons for this ozone trend determined by using both models and measurements [2,3,4,5,6] have been discussed. Most of these studies have indicated that long-range transported
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