TY - JOUR
T1 - Spatiotemporal variations and contributing factors of air pollutants in almaty, Kazakhstan
AU - Kerimray, Aiymgul
AU - Azbanbayev, Eldar
AU - Kenessov, Bulat
AU - Plotitsyn, Pavel
AU - Alimbayeva, Danara
AU - Karaca, Ferhat
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. We are grateful to the Kazhydromet and Airkaz for providing the data on pollutant concentrations.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - In this study, spatial and temporal patterns of PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO in Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan, in the period between 2013 and 2018 are explored. Severe degradation of air quality was observed from the data that were used in this study. Annual averages of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 concentrations exceeded the WHO annual limits by 5.3, 3.9, and 3.2 times, respectively. The maximum levels were observed in the winter, while the minimum levels in the summer. Winter-to-summer difference was more noticeable for PM2.5 than for other pollutants. The winter pollution peaks demonstrate the high contribution of large-and small-scale coal combustion for heating, which could be exacerbated with lower winds and possible more frequent thermal inversions. There was a negative correlation between elevation and levels of SO2, PM2.5, and PM10, while no correlation was observed for NO2 and CO, indicating that the former group could be mainly contributed by point sources located predominantly at lower elevations (e.g., power plants) and the latter group mainly originated from nonpoint sources distributed evenly across the city (e.g., transport). Urgent measures are needed to reduce emissions from the coal-fired power plant and from the domestic heating stoves.
AB - In this study, spatial and temporal patterns of PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO in Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan, in the period between 2013 and 2018 are explored. Severe degradation of air quality was observed from the data that were used in this study. Annual averages of PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 concentrations exceeded the WHO annual limits by 5.3, 3.9, and 3.2 times, respectively. The maximum levels were observed in the winter, while the minimum levels in the summer. Winter-to-summer difference was more noticeable for PM2.5 than for other pollutants. The winter pollution peaks demonstrate the high contribution of large-and small-scale coal combustion for heating, which could be exacerbated with lower winds and possible more frequent thermal inversions. There was a negative correlation between elevation and levels of SO2, PM2.5, and PM10, while no correlation was observed for NO2 and CO, indicating that the former group could be mainly contributed by point sources located predominantly at lower elevations (e.g., power plants) and the latter group mainly originated from nonpoint sources distributed evenly across the city (e.g., transport). Urgent measures are needed to reduce emissions from the coal-fired power plant and from the domestic heating stoves.
KW - Aerosol
KW - Air quality
KW - Almaty
KW - Atmospheric air pollution
KW - Kazakhstan
KW - Particulate matter
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U2 - 10.4209/aaqr.2019.09.0464
DO - 10.4209/aaqr.2019.09.0464
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85084186327
VL - 20
SP - 1340
EP - 1352
JO - Aerosol and Air Quality Research
JF - Aerosol and Air Quality Research
SN - 1680-8584
IS - 6
ER -