Status of PM10 as an air pollutant and its prediction using meteorological parameters in Ahvaz, Iran

In the present study, air quality analyses for particulate matters (PM10) were conductedin Ahvaz, a city in the south of Iran. The measurements were taken from 2009 through2010 in two different locations to prepare average data for the city. The averageconcentrations were calculated for every 24 hours, and each month and each season whichshowed the highest concentration of PM10 in the morning while the least concentration wasfound in the afternoon. Monthly concentrations of the PM10 showed the highest value inJuly and the least in January. The seasonal concentrations show the highest amounts insummer. Relationships between air pollutant and meteorological parameters were assessedstatistically using the daily average data. The wind data (velocity, direction), relativehumidity, temperature, sunshine periods, dew point and rainfall were considered asindependent variables. The relationships were expressed by multiple linear and nonlinearregression equations for annual and seasonal conditions using SPSS software. Resultsshowed significant relationships between PM10 and some meteorological parameters.RMSE test showed that among the different prediction models, stepwise model is the bestoption. Unfortunately, mostly the concentration of the PM10 was very higher than primarystandards of PM10 (50 μg/m3) for human health, that is why recently, Ahvaz is consideredone of worst polluted cities in the country.