Assessment of air pollution by PM10 suspended particles in the urban agglomeration of Central Europe in the period from 2001 to 2018

Abstract

The paper deals with the assessment of PM10 suspended particles air pollution level in the urban agglomeration of Olomouc in the Czech Republic. The evaluation also presents an example of completion of an incomplete PM10 data series in Olomouc between the years 2007 and 2011, when no measurement of this pollutant was performed in the city. An incomplete series of measurements in the city of Olomouc was supplemented by dependencies with measurements in Přerov and Prostějov located in the same urban agglomeration. The limit value of daily PM10 concentration is exceeded in this area. The assessment provides a detailed analysis of the suspended particles pollution trends in the area of interest. PM10 concentrations show a decreasing trend for spring, autumn and particularly summer months. In contrast, during winter months such trend was not observed, which proves the hypothesis of ongoing emissions from local domestic heating in the winter. Knowledge of the development of concentrations of suspended PM10 particles is an important basis for regional and international bodies dealing with the issue of air pollution, especially in evaluating the effectiveness of the measures taken. Local domestic heating is the biggest problem of air pollution by PM10 in the Czech Republic. The methodology used to complete missing concentration data as well as to assess PM10 trends can also be used for other localities especially with a similar composition of pollution sources, meteorological and geographical conditions.