Abstract
Lima is the capital of the Republic of Peru. It is the most important city in the country and as other Latin America metropolises have multiple problems, including air pollution due to particulate material above air quality standards, emitted by 1.6 million vehicles. The “on-line” coupled model of meteorology and chemistry of transport and meteorological/chemistry, WRF/Chem (Weather and Research Forecasting with Chemistry) has been used in the Lima Metropolitan Area, and validated against data observed at ground level with ten air quality stations of the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology for the year 2016. The goal of this study was to estimate the concentration of PM2.5 particulate matter in the months of February and July of 2016. In both months, the model satisfactorily predicts temperature and relative humidity. The average observed PM2.5 concentrations in the month of July are higher than in February, probably because the relative humidity in July is greater than the relative humidity in February. In the months of February and July the standard observed deviations of the model have a factor of 2.4 and 3.7 respectively, indicating a greater dispersion in the data of the model. In the month of July, the model captures the characteristics of transport, shows characteristic peaks during peak hours, therefore, the model estimates transport behavior better in July than in February. The quality of the air is strongly influenced by the vehicular transport. The PM2.5 particulate material in February had an average bias that varied from [?13.2 to 4.4 μg/m3] and in July [?9.63 to 11.65 μg/m3] and a normalized average bias in February that varied from [?0.68 to 0.43] and in July of [?0.46 to 0.48].
Highlights
Lima is the capital of the Republic of Peru
The “on-line” coupled model of meteorology and chemistry of transport and meteorological/chemistry, Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)/Chem (Weather and Research Forecasting with Chemistry) has been used in the Lima Metropolitan Area, and validated against data observed at ground level with ten air quality stations of the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology for the year 2016
The average observed PM2.5 concentrations in the month of July are higher than in February, probably because the relative humidity in July is greater than the relative humidity in February
Summary
Lima is the capital of the Republic of Peru. It is located on the country’s central coast, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at 77 ̊W and 12 ̊S. Cities with over 10 million inhabitants are considered megacities [4] [5] [6] [7] These megacities are the engines of growing economies, but are very large sources of air pollutants and climate-forcing agents [8]. Emitted primary and subsequently formed secondary gas- or particulate-phase pollutants [13], cause substantial health problems especially in megacities with rapidly growing industry and low pollution control [7] [14]. Whereas an aerosol is technically defined as a suspension of fine solid or liquid particles in a gas [15], atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is one of the primary concerns in megacities, due to their association with health effects and environment problems [16] [17]. Epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to (PM2.5 and PM10) atmospheric particulate matter can cause adverse effects, including coughing, respiratory stress in asthmatics, and reduced lung function [17], bronchitis, and conjunctivitis [19]
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