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Content of oxygen in the atmosphere over large cities and respiratory problems

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics volume 50, pages 782–792 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

The content of oxygen in the atmospheric air over cities, as well as in living accommodations and both office and industrial premises, is the most important factor determining the health status of citizens. If both the temperature and absolute humidity of surface air are high (as happened in central European Russia in the summer of 2010), the content of atmospheric oxygen is minimum and people may experience symptoms of hypoxia. In large cities, there are additional factors that can make breathing difficult: higher air temperatures (so-called heat islands) and the presence of carbon monoxide and suspended particles in the atmosphere. This leads to an increase in the rates of morbidity and mortality in the urban population under conditions of anomalously hot weather and natural fires.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pyzhevskii per. 3, Moscow, 119017, Russia

    A. S. Ginzburg, A. A. Vinogradova, E. I. Fedorova & A. V. Karpov

  2. State Environmental Institution “Mosekomonitoring,”, ul. Novyi Arbat 11, bldg. 1, Moscow, 119019, Russia

    E. V. Nikitich

Authors
  1. A. S. Ginzburg
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  2. A. A. Vinogradova
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  3. E. I. Fedorova
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  4. E. V. Nikitich
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  5. A. V. Karpov
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Correspondence to A. S. Ginzburg.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © A.S. Ginzburg, A.A. Vinogradova, E.I. Fedorova, E.V. Nikitich, A.V. Karpov, 2014, published in Geofizicheskie Protsessy i Biosfera, 2014, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 5–19.

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Ginzburg, A.S., Vinogradova, A.A., Fedorova, E.I. et al. Content of oxygen in the atmosphere over large cities and respiratory problems. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 50, 782–792 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433814080040

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433814080040

Keywords

  • atmosphere
  • oxygen
  • anomalous heat
  • fires
  • health status of people living in large cities
  • mortality