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Influence of road traffic, residential heating and meteorological conditions on PM10 concentrations during air pollution critical episodes

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Abstract

The importance of road traffic, residential heating and meteorological conditions as major drivers of urban PM10 concentrations during air pollution critical episodes has been assessed in the city of Florence (Italy) during the winter season. The most significant meteorological variables (wind speed and atmospheric stability) explained 80.5–85.5 % of PM10 concentrations variance, while a marginal role was played by major emission sources such as residential heating (12.1 %) and road traffic (5.7 %). The persistence of low wind speeds and unstable atmospheric conditions was the leading factor controlling PM10 during critical episodes. A specific PM10 critical episode was analysed, following a snowstorm that caused a “natural” scenario of 2-day dramatic road traffic abatement (−43 %), and a massive (up to +48 %) and persistent (8 consecutive days) increase in residential heating use. Even with such a strong variability in local PM10 emissions, the role of meteorological conditions was prominent, revealing that short-term traffic restrictions are insufficient countermeasures to reduce the health impacts and risks of PM10 critical episodes, while efforts should be made to anticipate those measures by linking them with air quality and weather forecasts.

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Acknowledgments

The Authors wish to thank ARPAT for providing PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations data; the Florence municipal council for providing road traffic data; Società Toscana Energia S.p.A. for providing gas consumption data; the LaMMA Consortium for providing emission data from the IRSE inventory; Emilio Borchi and Renzo Macii (Ximeniano Observatory) for their support to the eddy covariance infrastructure management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council–Institute of Biometeorology (CNR-IBIMET), Via Caproni 8, 50145, Florence, Italy

    Giovanni Gualtieri, Piero Toscano, Alfonso Crisci, Sara Di Lonardo, Carolina Vagnoli, Alessandro Zaldei & Beniamino Gioli

  2. Laboratory for Social Geography (LAGES), Department for Historic and Geographic Studies, University of Firenze, Via San Gallo 10, 50129, Florence, Italy

    Mario Tartaglia

Authors
  1. Giovanni Gualtieri
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  2. Piero Toscano
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  3. Alfonso Crisci
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  4. Sara Di Lonardo
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  5. Mario Tartaglia
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  6. Carolina Vagnoli
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  7. Alessandro Zaldei
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  8. Beniamino Gioli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanni Gualtieri.

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Responsible editor: Constantini Samara

Highlights

• Urban-scale PM10 critical episodes are mainly caused by the strong variability of weather conditions

• Wind speed and atmospheric stability explain 80.5–85.5 % of PM10 concentrations variance

• The persistence of lower wind regimes and unstable conditions is pivotal

• The influence of local emission drivers (residential heating and road traffic) is minor

• Short-term traffic restrictions are insufficient countermeasures to prevent PM10 critical episodes

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Gualtieri, G., Toscano, P., Crisci, A. et al. Influence of road traffic, residential heating and meteorological conditions on PM10 concentrations during air pollution critical episodes. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 19027–19038 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5099-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5099-x

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