Loading...

Air pollution trends in Tehran and their anthropogenic drivers

Torbatian, S ; Sharif University of Technology | 2020

396 Viewed
  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.1016/j.apr.2019.11.015
  3. Publisher: Elsevier B.V , 2020
  4. Abstract:
  5. An assessment of trends in main air pollutant concentrations (including CO, SO2, NO2, O3, PM2.5, and Asbestos) is conducted for the years 2005–2016 for the city of Tehran, Iran. The focus has been on the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to the observed trend, particularly the role of related mitigation plans implemented in the period of interest. A significant decreasing trend (about 50%) was observed in CO and SO2 concentrations during the considered time interval, which was explained by improvement plans in fuel quality and vehicle emission standards. While a substantial elevation (more than 50%) in NO2 levels was detected over the study period, variant trends were observed during different periods that appear to be driven by multiple factors including the increase in the number of vehicles and fuel consumption, changes in residential heating fuel from heavy oil to natural gas, etc. The analysis revealed that the O3 formation in Tehran's atmosphere was converted from NOx-limited to NOx-saturated regime around the years 2012–2013. The overall analysis showed a slight decreasing trend (about 30%) in PM2.5 concentrations between the years 2011–2015; however, a rise in PM2.5 levels was observed between the years 2015–2016. Apart from the contribution of anthropogenic drivers, general drought in Iran has caused a considerable increase in natural dust in total PM2.5 mass. Finally, a decline in annual mean airborne asbestos fibers (more than 60%) was indicated by the current study during the years 2012 and 2015. © 2020 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control
  6. Keywords:
  7. Air pollution ; Control action ; Driving factor ; Trend analysis
  8. Source: Atmospheric Pollution Research ; Volume 11, Issue 3 , 2020 , Pages 429-442
  9. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1309104219305033