Abstract
Worldwide monitoring of ambient outdoor air quality is critical for planning mitigation measures and controls for public safety. Several airborne pollutants are measured and continuously monitored by multiple government environmental agencies. Such pollutants include particulate matter (PM) levels, both PM10 and PM2.5, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, and volatile organic compounds. However, scientific studies related to air pollution and the temporal variability of PM levels in the United Arab Emirates are limited. This study comprehensively analyzes the spatiotemporal variations in PM10, PM2.5, and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during 2017–2018. The PM levels are high during April–September, peaking in July each year, likely because of intense dust and sandstorms; the same levels are low during October–March. Industrial areas have higher annual average PM10 levels (162 μg/m3) compared to urban core areas (132 μg/m3) and suburban areas (131 μg/m3). In general, the values of the PM2.5/PM10 ratio are low ranging between annual averages of 0.29 and 0.49 across the industrial, urban core, and desert/suburban areas. This is a characteristic particular to arid and semi-arid environments owing to the prevalence of high quantities of PM10 leading to a low PM2.5/PM10 ratio. In addition, this low ratio indicates that, within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, air pollution is primarily driven by natural processes related to sand particle uplift, movement, and deposition rather than by human activities.
Highlights
Air pollutants, especially particulate matter (PM), has been actively researched over the past few decades (Basahi et al 2017; Bell et al 2004)
Such PM is regarded as a complex mixture of both organic and inorganic particles arising from smoke, dust, soot, or liquid droplets
The primary objectives of this study are to identify the spatiotemporal variations in P M10, PM2.5, and P M2.5/PM10 over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Summary
Especially particulate matter (PM), has been actively researched over the past few decades (Basahi et al 2017; Bell et al 2004). Airborne PM is generally calculated as the total sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in the air. Such PM is regarded as a complex mixture of both organic and inorganic particles arising from smoke, dust, soot, or liquid droplets. Many of these air-suspended particles are hazardous to humans and can cause serious health problems (Khalil et al 2016; Kim et al 2015). Common air pollutants include aerosols, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The health effects of exposure to CO, SO2, and NO2 include a reduced ability to perform simple physical tasks and the aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (Anderson 2009; Bernard et al 2001; Krewski et al 2000; Li et al 2010; Pope et al 2011)
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