Climatological aspects of the composition and pollution of the atmosphere
This report offers some practical guidelines on the processing and use of regular surface and upper-air observations in terms of their climatological influence on transport and diffusion of air pollutants. The concept of a meteorological potential for air pollution is discussed. An attempt was made to include examples of pertinent climatological data for various parts of the world but in fact the data are limited to temperate and northern latitudes of the northern hemisphere. There is a paucity of available meteorological studies relative to air pollution in the tropics, which, unfortunately, is where industrialization, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions are expected to increase rapidly. In addition to transport and diffusion, some attention is also devoted to climatological influences on the transformation of pollutants while they are airborne, especially the photochemical formation of oxidant. A brief summary of pertinent publications of the World Meteorological Organization is given and an effort is made not to repeat information unnecessarily therein.
Meteorological variables that are discussed include wind speed and direction, static stability, mixing heights, diffusion parameters, fog, and precipitation. A more general variable is atmospheric stagnation, which refers to meteorological conditions that are often associated with or conducive to episodes with relatively high concentrations of pollutants, especially as experienced in cities. Various definitions and applications of stagnation are described for different parts of the world. A brief description is given of considerations to be made in processing and summarizing measurements of air quality. The report includes almost 100 references.
Notes: Summaries available in English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Collection(s) and Series: WMO - No. 393 > Technical Note
Language(s): English
Format: Digital (Free), Hard copy
Tags: Observations ; Guidelines ; Air pollution ; Atmospheric circulation ; Urban zone ; Technical Publications ; Commission for Climatology (CCl) ; TN 139 
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Publications of Commission for Climatology (CCI) (2011)