Evaluation and Parameterization of Air Pollutants as A Function of Meteorological Parameters in Zakho City, Kurdistan Region -Iraq

Abstract

Many cities in Iraq are facing environmental issues, such as air, and noise pollution, due to huge increases in population, vehicles density, heavy traffic congestion, as well as petroleum extraction. Therefore, the quality of the air has deteriorated and has threatened citizens’ health. In this research, the concentration of gaseous pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), ozone (O₃), methane (CH₄), and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) were measured at five locations near heavy traffic jams in Zakho City, (north of Iraq) during autumn and winter 2021-2022. In addition, the relationship between these pollutants and the meteorological parameter was investigated such as temperature (T, °C), relative humidity (RH, %), atmospheric pressure (AP, mbar), wind speed (WS, m/s), and wind direction (WD). Methane (CH₄), and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gases were not detected at all locations. In autumn, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and ozone (O₃) concentrations ranged from 0.0468-8.852 ppm, 0.0497-0.071%, and 0.0012-0.145 ppm, respectively, and 0.056-8.667 ppm, 0.0417-0.06 Vol%, and 0.0006-0.0571ppm respectively during winter. The results show that concentrations of recorded gases and meteorological parameters were weakly correlated.