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THE SYNOPTIC CONDITIONS AND THE CRITICAL LEVELS OF

POLLUTION FOR SPECIFIC SITUATIONS IN BUCHAREST

VALENTINA-MARIANA MANOIU*1, STEFAN GHEORGHE2,

ALEXANDRU-IOAN CRACIUN3

ABSTRACT. - The synoptic conditions and the critical levels of pollution for

specific situations in Bucharest. The air in Bucharest is one of the most polluted

in Europe and the most polluted in Romania. The purpose of our study is to

present several particular situations where the maximum allowable concentrations

of air pollutants (tracked by the local monitoring stations) were exceeded, while

also explaining the synoptic weather conditions which favoured theses outcomes.

The study is based on the analysis and interpretation of the data provided by the

Environmental Department of the Capital’s City Hall, the National Meteorology

Administration and the Offenbach German Meteorological Service. Such studies

can be used to avoid critical levels of pollution: knowing the synoptic weather

overview favourable to pollutant stagnation on certain days, the City Hall could

take measures to reduce or ban traffic during those hours or on those days, while

also warning the sensitive categories of the population in order to avoid exposure

to the high levels of pollutants.

Keywords: synoptic conditions, air pollution, Bucharest

1. INTRODUCTION

The air in Bucharest is one of the most heavily polluted in Europe and the

most heavily polluted in Romania (The European Pollutant Release and Transfer

Register, 2011; Theloke et al., 2011). This dramatic outcome was illustrated in

2011 with dozens of online maps released by the European Union and the

European Environmental Agency, detailing the pollution levels of most European

cities and villages (The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, 2011;

Theloke et al., 2011), as well as the pollution sources and the toxic substances

affecting the health of the locals in each area.

In 2012, according to a study conducted by the Romanian Ecopolis Centre for

Sustainable Policies, Bucharest ranked in the top two most heavily polluted European

capitals (Ecopolis Centre for Sustainable Policies, 2011) with particulate matter with

*1 Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest; Bd. Nicolae Balcescu nr.1, cod postal 010041,

sector 1, Bucharest, Romania; valentina.mariana.manoiu@gmail.com (contact author) 2 Meteorological engineer, retired military colonel/commander, former head of the meteorological

service of the Romanian military aviation; Str. Ceaikovski nr.3, etaj 2, ap. 8, sector 2, Bucharest,

Romania; gheorghestefan33@gmail.com 3 LIFE unit, DG Environment, European Commission, Brussels; str. Radu Cristian, ap. 8, sector 2,

Bucharest; alexandru.ioan.craciun@gmail.com

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diameters of up to 10 micrometers (PM10). Therefore, in Bucharest, the average

annual records show 92 days in which the permissible level is exceeded, although the

European standards call for a maximum of 35 days (Ecopolis Centre for Sustainable

Policies, 2011). In this regard, Bucharest is only surpassed by Sofia, with an annual

average of 176 days. The main source of air pollution in Bucharest is the automobile

traffic (Ecopolis Centre for Sustainable Policies, 2011).

In 2013, a study conducted by NASA (Earth Observatory, NASA, 2013)

revealed that air pollution is the cause of 2.1 million premature deaths worldwide,

and that the worst numbers were being recorded in Eastern Europe (including

Romania) and Asia (Earth Observatory, NASA, 2013). Particulate matter is

associated to most lung and heart diseases (Earth Observatory, NASA, 2013;

Zoumakis et al., 2011).

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Bucharest is located in the south of the country and has a temperate

climate, influenced mainly by the alternate or simultaneous influences of the

Western circulation, the East-European Anticyclone, the Mediterranean Cyclones,

and the Tropical advections. The city has a permanent population of about 2

million, and spreads over a surface of approximately 240 km2. Its climate is

monitored by three weather stations operated by the Romanian National

Meteorological Administration, two of which are located in the city’s northern and

north-eastern peripheries, while the third is positioned within city limits.

The air quality is measured by 8 stations located in various areas of the

city: Cercul Militar and Mihai Bravu (traffic monitoring stations), Drumul Taberei,

Titan and Berceni (industrial stations), Morii Lake (urban background station),

Măgurele (suburban background station) and Baloteşti (regional background

station), which are part of the Romanian Network for Air Quality Monitoring

launched in 2004 and supervised by the Romanian Environmental Ministry and the

National Agency for Environmental Protection (NAEP).

The recorded pollutant concentrations include: sulphur dioxide (SO2),

nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), benzene (C6H6), ozone (O3),

and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). All monitoring stations are located

within the urban and suburban areas of the city.

Still, according to the data provided by the NAEP, these stations are rarely

operational (General Council of Bucharest, 2014) and, according to the national

legislation, they should be gathering data over at least 90% of the time in order to

provide the necessary data for accurate reports on the city’s air quality (General

Council of Bucharest, 2014).

The tool provided by the NAEP for checking air quality levels (the

www.calitateaer.ro website) only generates information over a two-day span –

current and previous days (General Council of Bucharest, 2014).

Therefore, for our study, we used the data provided by the Municipality of

Bucharest, which conducts measurements on air pollutants in a mobile laboratory

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owned by its Environmental Department. The analyzed pollutants are: PM1, PM

2.5, PM10, NO, NO2, ammonia (NH3), CO, CO2, SO2, hydrogen sulphide (H2S),

O3, C6H6, toluene, ethyl-benzene and o, m, p-xylenes.

The measurements are performed in different locations throughout

Bucharest, and the values of the concentrations relate to the reference values stated

by Law 104/2011 on ambient air quality, which transposes the provisions of

Directive 2008/50/CE on ambient air quality into the national legislation.

The pollutants analyzed for the current study are O3 and PM10 particulate

matter, which recorded limit exceedances in 2014.

Ozone pollution is known to be a complex process, which varies in time

and space, with a variety of components which influence the O3 concentration

variation. Some of these factors are: the seasons (O3 formation occurs more during

spring and summer than it does during winter), meteorological parameters (wind

speed and direction, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation). The factors

influencing O3 variation include urban and industrial activities, the city's complex

geometry and pollutant transportation from surrounding areas. Bucharest tends to

have higher O3 concentrations during the summer (Radu et al., 2013).

There are numerous mobile and stationary sources for urban PM, such as

regional and long-range transport, in addition to the re-suspended PM found on the

street surface. Moreover, particles are formed via gas-to-particle conversion

processes and are generally depleted during atmospheric transport through a wide

range of physical and chemical means. PM is a complex mixture of particles that

may be solid, liquid or both, which is suspended in the air and consists of organic

and inorganic substances.

Bucharest falls into the same category as many other European urban

areas, one where the main pollutant with PM10 emissions is the local road

transport (Dimitrovski et al., 2013; Doncheva-Boneva et al., 2013; Kelessis et al.,

2002; Patronas et al., 2009; Stevanovic-Carapina et al., 2011), dealing with both

primary emissions and re-suspensions caused by vehicular traffic or wind activity.

When discussing O3, according to OMS, the consequences of short-term

exposure include adverse effects on lung functions, respiratory inflammatory

reactions, negative effects on the respiratory system, increased medication

consumption, increased number of hospitalizations and increased mortality; the

effect of long-term exposure is the reduction of normal lung development. The

effects of short-term exposure to particulate matter are lung inflammatory

reactions, negative effects on the cardiovascular system, increased medication

consumption, increased number of hospitalizations and increased mortality; the

effects of long-term exposure to PM are increased respiratory symptoms, decreased

respiratory function in children, increased prevalence for obstructive respiratory

diseases, reduced vital capacity in adults, reduced life expectancy due to the

increase of cardio-pulmonary pathology and possibly lung cancer (Patronas et al.,

2009; Radu et al., 2013; Voicu et al., 2012; Zoumakis et al., 2011).

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3. RESULTS AND DEBATES

Looking to highlight the correlation between the high levels of certain air

pollutants and the synoptic meteorological context, we selected a few particular

cases (certain days in August and September 2014) in Bucharest, with values

exceeding the limits of O3 and PM10 particulate matter; they were also given a

synoptic interpretation, using the maps developed for Europe by the Offenbach

German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst Offenbach).

In august 2014, in Bucharest, District 5 (in the proximity of Dr. Burghele

Hospital, a heavily circulated area), the limit for the O3 pollutant was exceeded five

times (Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, July-August 2014).

According to Law 104/2011 on ambient air quality, the limit for O3 is the daily

maximum 8-hour average O3concentration of 120 μg/m³.

The days with high O3 concentrations were August 5th, August 6

th, August

8th, August 10

th and August 15

th 2014.

On August 5th, the city’s air temperature ranged from 20°C to 34°C

between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. The atmospheric pressure was low throughout the day,

with values between 749 and 751 mmHg. On this day, the daily maximum 8-hour

average O3 concentration was of 135.46 μg/m³ (Bucharest City Hall, Department of

Environment, July-August).

On August 6th 2014, the air temperature in Bucharest ranged between 20°C

and 33°C in the 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. timeframe. The pressure was just as low as the day

before, between 749 and 750 mmHg. The daily maximum 8-hour average O3 concentration was of 122.54 μg/m³ (Bucharest City Hall, Department of

Environment, July-August 2014).

On August 8th 2014, the city’s lowest air temperature was 20°C, recorded

at 7 a.m., and the highest was 33°C at 3 p.m. The pressure ranged between 751 and

753 mmHg. The daily maximum 8-hour average O3 concentration was of 124.25

μg/m³ (Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, July-August 2014).

On August 10th 2014, the lowest recorded air temperature was 21°C at 7 and 8

a.m., while the highest was 33°C between 2 and 6 p.m., with the pressure ranging from

753 and 755 mmHg and an 127.54 μg/m³ daily maximum 8-hour average O3 concentration (Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, July-August 2014).

On August 15th 2014, the city recorded a 21-degree low-point at 7 a.m. and

a 34-degree maximum between 4 and 6 p.m. The pressure ranged between 748 and

750 mmHg and the daily maximum 8-hour average O3 concentration was of 123.30

μg/m³ (Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, July-August 2014).

It is important to mention that all 5 days recorded high temperatures

(favouring high O3 concentrations) and low pressure. In order to get a clear

synoptic weather overview, we analyzed the synoptic maps for Europe, provided

by the German Offenbach Weather Service DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst

Offenbach), by following the synoptic weather context for the 5 days with high O3 concentrations. On the German synoptic maps, we marked the approximate

position of Romania in Europe using a black box (Fig. 1. a-e)

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Thus, we found that in all 5 days which exceeded the O3 value limit,

Romania was in a low-pressure area known as a cyclonic thalweg, accompanied by

an atmospheric front. In these synoptic situations, air currents are ascendants, while

the pollutants are maintained under the cloud system (beneath the cloud ceiling).

Fig. 1. a-e. Synoptic ground maps for the European territory, created by the German

Offenbach Weather Service, for each of the five August 2014 days: 5 (a), 6 (b), 8 (c), 10

(d) and 15 (e).

a) b)

c) d)

e)

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In September 2014, in District 2 of Bucharest (near the Foişor Hospital, an

area with heavy traffic) on the 3rd

, 4th, 16

th, and 20

th of the month, the recorded

values exceeded the limit for PM10 suspended particles (Bucharest City Hall,

Department of Environment, Sept. 2014). According to Law 104/2011 on ambient

air quality, the limit value for PM10 particles is an average daily value of 50 μg/m3.

On September 3rd 2014, the air temperature in Bucharest ranged from 21°C

between 7 and 8 a.m. to 26°C between 2 and 3 p.m. At that time, a Mediterranean

cyclone crossed the Romanian territory. The atmospheric pressure was low throughout

the day, with values between 750 and 752 mmHg. The average daily PM10 value was

of 59.12 μg/m³ (Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, Sept. 2014).

On September 4th 2014, the city’s air temperature recorded at 7 a.m. was of

18°C and of 24°C between 6 and 7 p.m. The pressure was relatively low, ranging

between 750 and 754 mmHg. The PM10 daily average recorded 63.29 μg/m³

(Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, Sept. 2014).

On September 16th 2014, the minimum air temperature was of 16°C at 7

a.m. and the maximum was of 25°C between 2 and 4 p.m. The pressure only had

two values – 755 and 756 mmHg. The PM10 daily average was of 55.46 μg/m³

(Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, Sept. 2014).

On September 20th 2014, the city’s lowest air temperature was recorded at

7 a.m. (10°C) and the 26°C-maximum was recorded between 4 and 5 p.m. The

pressure oscillated between 755 and 759 mmHg and the PM10 daily average was

of 55.27 μg/m³ (Bucharest City Hall, Department of Environment, Sept. 2014).

Following the synoptic map analysis for these four high PM10 value

September days (using the maps provided by the German Offenbach Weather Service),

we noticed the influence of the same synoptic context, characterized by the influence of

a cyclone, of ascending air currents and also the presence of pollutants in the lower

troposphere (Deutscher Wetterdienst Offenbach). The black box found on the German

synoptic maps marks Romania’s approximate position in Europe (Fig. 2. a-d)

4. CONCLUSIONS

Well aware of the gravity of air pollution in Bucharest, we decided to

indicate through this study a few specific moments where the maximum allowable

concentrations of air pollutants (tracked by the local monitoring stations) were

exceeded, while also explaining the synoptic weather conditions which favoured

theses outcomes. The study is based on the analysis and interpretation of the data

provided by the Department for Environment of the Capital’s City Hall and the

National Meteorology Administration. We noticed that these higher values are

favoured by the cyclonic thalweg influence, which maintains the pollutants in the

lower troposphere due to the action of ascending air currents.

Such studies can be used to avoid critical levels of pollution – knowing the

synoptic weather overview favourable to pollutant-stagnation on certain days,

using the weather forecast, the City Hall can implement measures in order to

reduce or ban traffic during those hours or on those particular days, while also

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warning the sensitive categories of the population to avoid exposure to the high

levels of pollutants. In the long run, various measures can be taken, such as

increasing the green space areas, encouraging alternative transportation (cycling),

implementing efficient street sanitation procedures, etc.

Fig. 2. a-d. Synoptic ground maps for the European area, created by the German Offenbach

Weather Service for the following September 2014 days: 3 (a), 4 (b), 16 (c) and 20 (d).

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