Influence of meteorological parameters on air pollutant concentrations in León, Spain

Abstract

The presence of pollutants in the atmosphere may cause a negative impact on human health and the environment. The main air pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM). The correlation between the air pollutant concentrations and the weather variables provides valuable information about the emission sources and leads to a better understanding of the processes responsible for the spatial and temporal distribution of air pollutants. This enables policy makers to establish mitigation measures. The present study was carried out in León city, located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (42° 36′ N, 05º 35′ W and 838 m above sea level). For this study, the data available in the Air Quality Network of Junta of Castilla y León (www.servicios.jcyl.es/esco) for the period between 1 January and 31 December 2016 were used. Two air quality stations were operating during the studied period: i) an urban traffic station located in San Ignacio de Loyola Avenue (Station 1, 05° 35'14"W 42° 36'14"N) and ii) a background station located in the Coto Escolar (Station 4, 05° 33'59"W 42° 34'31"N).