Multi-source observations on the effect of atmospheric blocking on air quality in İstanbul: a study case

Air pollution is affected by the atmospheric dynamics. This study aims to determine that air pollution concentration values in İstanbul increased significantly and reached peak values due to atmospheric blocking between the 30th of December 2022 and the 5th of January 2023. In this study, hourly pollutant data was obtained from 16 air quality monitoring stations (AQMS), the exact reanalysis data was extracted from ERA5 database, and inversion levels and meteorological and synoptic analyses were used to determine the effects of atmospheric blocking on air pollution. Also, cloud base heights and vertical visibility measurements were taken with a ceilometer. Statistical calculations and data visualizations were performed using the R and Grads program. Omega-type blocking, which started in İstanbul on December 30, 2022, had a significant impact on the 1st and 2nd of January 2023, and PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentration values reached their peak values at 572.8 and 254.20 µg/m³, respectively. In addition, it was found that the average concentration values in the examined period in almost all stations were higher than the averages for January and February. As a result, air quality in İstanbul was determined as “poor” between these calendar dates. It was found that the blocking did not affect the ozone (µg/m³) concentration. It was also found that the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) 10 µm or less in diameter (PM₁₀) and PM 2.5 µm or less in diameter (PM_2.5) were increased by the blocking effect in the İstanbul area. Finally, according to the data obtained using the ceilometer, cloud base heights decreased to 30 m and vertical visibility to 10 m.