Dear Tunza Ecogen members- Sorry for my late report (pending from March). I had exams till mid March, immediately after return from JEEA and then was travelling till the first week of April. Trying to make up for the delay with a detailed report.

ATMOSPHERIC PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

BASICS

Air can be contaminated by a range of very different particles that can be organic or inorganic in nature.

Particulate matter is the sum of all solid and liquid particles suspended in air. This complex mixture contains for instance dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Many of them can harm our health, especially very small particles that can enter deep into the lungs. They also have impacts on climate and precipitation.

These particles come in many different size ranges such as coarse, fine and ultrafine. They also vary in composition and origin. Subtypes of atmospheric particulate matter include suspended particulate matter (SPM), thoracic and respirable particles, inhalable coarse particles, which are particles with a diameter between 2.5 and 10 micrometres (?m), fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, even smaller ultrafine particles and soot.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particulates

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/particulate-matter-pm/index.htm#1

 

MORE FACTS

Particulate matter is one of the most serious air pollutants, due to its harmful effects on human health and its role on Ecology and in climate change, in addition to ecosystem damage and degraded visibility. PM is produced either from natural or anthropogenic sources. Natural PM includes material from the earth?s crust originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, biological materials such as pollen from living vegetation, and sea spray in coastal areas. Anthropogenic PM is generated by human activities, like burning of fossil fuels in vehicles and power plants. It can be Primary ie. directly emitted into the atmosphere or it can be formed as a Secondary pollutant through transformation of gases when gaseous pollutants (e.g. SO2, NOx, NH3 and VOCs) emitted from various industrial processes react to form fine particles.

Numerous studies have focused on variations in PM levels with respect to changes in meteorological parameters. Assuming the quantities of PM emitted from anthropogenic sources are constant in a certain season and area therefore, the variations in PM levels can be partially attributed to the effects of meteorological conditions. Wind speed, atmospheric temperature and relative humidity are thought to influence PM concentrations. Stagnant wind conditions allow air pollutants to accumulate near Earth?s surface, resulting in high localized concentrations of PM. On the contrary, fast near surface winds are generally associated with high levels of particulate matter caused by re-suspension of ground particles and long range transport of particulates between regions. Formation of secondary aerosols by gas to particle conversion is a temperature driven process in which atmospheric temperature plays a key role. Variations in the relative humidity have a clear effect on hygroscopic aerosol particle, where absorption of water increases the size of the individual particle and affect its lifetime in the atmosphere.

 

SPECIFIC TO United Arab Emirates (UAE)

 A desert area, UAE has an arid climate. Winter seasons last from November through March, during which time temperatures seldom drop below 6?C. Summers, which last from April through September, are very hot and humid, with temperatures rising to about 48?C and humidity levels higher than 90%. Generally, winds are predominantly from the west and northwest with relatively low speed and the country experiences elevated levels of air particles that are less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10). The high concentrations of PM10 are generally caused by natural sources such as windblown desert sand and sea spray.

http://avestia.com/NewTech2016_Proceedings/files/paper/ICEPR/158.pdf

https://www.witpress.com/Secure/elibrary/papers/AIR13/AIR13010FU1.pdf

 

Outdoor air pollution is the primary environmental threat to public health in the UAE. The desert environment and frequent dust storms in the region are the main contributors to elevated PM10 concentrations. This is further increased by contributions from traffic, industrial activities and construction.  The country has seen phenomenal unprecedented growth in the last two decades. This has obviously contributed to a rise in atmospheric particulate matter.

The possible health effects range from irritation of eyes, nose and throat, to more serious effects on the respiratory system, the heart and the cardiovascular system. Ground-level ozone accumulates at high levels in areas of bright sunlight and high temperatures, conditions that increase its formation from nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Additionally, ozone is easily transported by wind and can therefore affect areas that are far from its sources. Therefore, rural areas can be impacted by sources that are hundreds of kilometres away. Ozone exposure may cause inflammation of the airways, respiratory symptoms and decreased lung function.

However, UAE?s concentration of air pollutants is within permissible national limits. Improving air quality is among leading priorities for the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water. the Ministry is implementing all measures to transform the national economy into a low-carbon and green economy. It has accordingly launched a series of initiatives aimed at reducing pollutant concentrations, including the National Strategy for Green Development promoting broader public transport use of cleaner fuels such as unleaded gasoline, low-sulfur diesel (?green? diesel), and natural gas as an alternative fuel for vehicles and the use of renewable and nuclear energy for generating electricity. The link below to the official Ministry news report in this regard, gives more details about the specific problems and their solutions being considered by the ministry.

http://www.moccae.gov.ae/en/media-center/news/25/6/2015/uaes-concentration-of-air-pollutants-within-permissible-national-limits-improving-air-quality-among-leading-priorities-for-ministry-of-environment-and-water.aspx

 

Residents of any emirate in the UAE, and numerous cities across a number of countries, can find information about the air they inhale on the Accuweather website.  An international weather forecaster, any city in the UAE can be selected and the website will show the level of dust and dander, mould, pollen and air quality in a section specifically dedicated to allergies.

www.accuweather.com

 

In addition to the global weather website, there are other, local sources of checking the air quality of the two biggest emirates in the UAE- the Capital Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) informs residents of Abu Dhabi by the hour about the ambient air quality through the AD Air Quality website, explaining how clean or polluted the air they breathe is, and what the possible health effects are hours or a day after inhaling this air.

https://www.adairquality.ae/

 

For more details on the various options available to residents of UAE to check the air quality, please refer to the link below:

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/allergy-prone-how-to-check-uae-s-air-quality-before-going-out-2013-06-04-1.509027

 

EAD works to protect air quality and consider the control of noise pollution as well.

Abu Dhabi occasionally experiences high concentrations of particulate matter and ground-level ozone. Dust storms exacerbate this problem greatly, with particulate matter in the atmosphere up to 14 times higher than WHO standards. EAD is taking the following steps to tackle the problem:​

• Operating a network of 20 air quality monitoring stations spread out around Abu Dhabi Emirate
https://www.ead.ae/documents/AMBIENT-AIR-QUALITY-MAP-ENG-resized.jpg
• E-linking with other entities? air quality monitoring networks and exchanging data to help manage air quality better
• Upgrading techniques for analysing, modelling and reporting the information from monitoring stations
• Establishing an Air Quality Index (AQI), calculated for five key air pollutants: SO2, CO, NO2, PM10 and O3. 
• Strengthening the legal, regulatory and enforcement framework for air quality and noise

EAD takes the following steps to ensure the success of the efforts:

• Ambient nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone and particulate matter concentrations maintained within accepted standards
• Hospital and doctor visits due to particulate matter-related complaints reduced
• Noise levels minimised within accepted standards

EAD encourages the residents to play their part and gives the following advice:

• Understand how air quality is measured, how it can affect your health and how to combat its effects 
• Reduce the use of energy at home, insulate your home effectively and make rational use of your air conditioning system 
• Use energy-efficient light bulbs and turn off the lights when you don't need them: You'll reduce your electricity consumption and have lower bills too! 
• Reduce the use of private transport- use public transit or join a carpool 
• Switch to cleaner fuels and cleaner technologies such as electric cars, hybrids or natural gas vehicles 
• Keep your vehicle engine in good condition with regular maintenance 
• Maintain the correct air pressure in your tires, it will reduce your fuel consumption, save money and prevent accidents!

 

For more details, refer link below:

https://www.ead.ae/Pages/know-your-environment/air-and-climate-control.aspx

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3cl5f-Bs1M

 

EAD publishes quarterly reports to present the status of air quality during three-month periods as it is monitored around capital city of Abu Dhabi. The ambient air quality monitoring network comprises twenty fixed stations. These stations are distributed across the emirate in Abu Dhabi city and its suburbs Al Ain city and its suburbs and in major towns in the Western Region. These stations are strategically located to accurately capture pollutants in zones categorised as urban traffic, urban background, suburban background, suburban industrial, regional rural background, rural industrial and rural traffic. EAD also operates two mobile stations, which are usually deployed to respond to air quality emergencies or in situations where specific monitoring is required temporarily in areas that are not adequately covered by the existing network.

 

The quarterly report discusses the five criteria pollutants for which standards have been established by the federal government to protect the health of sensitive populations, such as children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems.

 

A sample report can be viewed through the following link:

https://www.ead.ae/Publications/Air%20Quality%20Quarter%203%20Report%202015/Air%20Quality%203ed%20Qrt%20Report%202015-Eg.pdf

 

Dubai Municipality also employs a similar system. As in Abu Dhabi, there are several stations measuring the air quality throughout the emirate. Seven of the stations measure ?urban background? average population exposure to air pollution, specifically the five major air pollutants. In addition, two stations measure ?traffic? maximum population exposure near roadside, three stations measure ?industrial? maximum population exposure in industrial areas such as Jebel Ali (use in attainment and non-attainment determination of ambient air quality standards) and two stations measure ?near-city background? photochemical pollution at areas away from the central business district and urban sprawl.

Hourly concentrations of criteria pollutants and air quality index (a colour-coded scale based on health effects) are reported for each hour and published on the Dubai Municipality portal.

http://eis-me.com/ambient-air-quality-network-dm/

 

Having said the above, it is heartening to know (according to a news report in the local daily Khaleej times in end of 2015), that the air in the UAE is fit to breathe. As per the World Health Organisation guidelines from earlier this year, were in the green zone with the Particulate Matter (PM) level being 2.5. From there on we have improved further and thus can assume being higher up in the green zone now.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/lifestyle/health-fitness/take-a-deep-breath-uae-air-is-safe-say-experts