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Abstract
Abstract. In wintertime, high concentrations of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are commonly observed in the metropolitan area of Santiago, Chile. Hourly peaks can be very strong, up to 10 times above average levels, but have barely been studied so far. Based on atmospheric composition measurements and chemistry-transport modeling (WRF-CHIMERE), the chemical signature of sporadic skyrocketing wintertime PM2.5 peaks is analyzed. This signature and the timing of such extreme events trace their origin back to massive barbecue cooking by Santiago's inhabitants during international soccer games. The peaks end up evacuated outside Santiago after a few hours but trigger emergency plans for the next day. Decontamination plans in Santiago focus on decreasing emissions from traffic, industry, and residential heating. Thanks to the air quality network of Santiago, this study shows that cultural habits such as barbecue cooking also need to be taken into account. For short-term forecast and emergency management, cultural events such as soccer games seem a good proxy to prognose possible PM2.5 peak events. Not only can this result have an informative value for the Chilean authorities but also a similar methodology could be reproduced for other cases throughout the world in order to estimate the burden on air quality of cultural habits.
Highlights
Santiago, the capital city of Chile (33.5◦ S, 70.5◦ W; 570 m a.s.l.) regularly faces high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in winter
Aire (SINCA) network of surface air quality sensors distributed in the metropolitan area of Santiago (Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, 2018)
The western part of the city seems much more affected by the event than the eastern part. This comes from the diurnal wind cycle in Santiago, which features prevailing easterlies during the nighttime contributing to the renewal of air masses in this part of the city (Rutllant and Garreaud, 1995)
Summary
The capital city of Chile (33.5◦ S, 70.5◦ W; 570 m a.s.l.) regularly faces high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in winter. The induced poor ventilation in wintertime combined with significant anthropogenic emissions lead to high average levels of PM2.5 (Barraza et al, 2017; Mazzeo et al, 2018) as well as peak events (Toro A et al, 2018). Surface concentrations can reach up to 600 μg m−3 in the western part of the city according to the local air quality monitoring network. A total of 7 million people live in the metropolitan area and are exposed to such atmospheric pollution. The associated life expectancy reduction caused by PM2.5 inhalation ranks Chile among the countries with air pollution issues (Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, 2017). The source and impacts of extreme peak events as well as the benefits of their mitigation are relatively unknown
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