The Effect of Forest Fire Events on Air Quality: A Case Study of Northern Colombia

Abstract

This work presents an analysis of fire events recorded in Isla Salamanca Natural Park and their impact on the air quality in the district of Barranquilla, with an emphasis on 2020 due to the increase in the number of ha burned by forest fires that year. The analysis was based on the data provided by the environmental authority for 2015–2020. The average number of ha burned in 2020 was 50% (events recorded since 2015), with a total area of fires corresponding to 256.9 ha, which is of concern considering the ecological importance of the park and its proximity to the district of Barranquilla, Colombia. The study evaluated the spatial–temporal distributions of forest fires and their possible direct effects on air quality. For 2020, it was found that the maximum hourly measurements of the Tres Ave Marias station for particulate matter less than 2.5 (135.013 µg/m3) corresponded to the recorded event that occurred in June 2020, whereas those of the Móvil station for PM10 (263.98 µg/m3) and PM2.5 (278.7 µg/m3) corresponded to the events of 28 June 2020, and 9 August 2020. These concentrations were higher than the standard values of the average maximum limits for 24 h established in the current Colombian regulations, and both events coincided with fire events reported by the environmental authorities, where a total of 249 ha of Isla Salamanca Natural Park were burned. These things considered, it was evident that the Policía station had the highest concentrations of pollutants on average.