Air quality and climate change in the greater Cape Town area

• Main Author: Kalognomou, Evangelia-Anna
• Other Authors: Hewitson, Bruce
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Environmental and Geographical Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8956

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-91). === The work presented in this dissertation stems from the link that exists between meteorological conditions and the significant accumulation of air pollutants in large urban agglomerations. The research focuses on the Greater Cape Town Area (GCTA), where temperature inversions lead to high air pollutant concentrations and episodes of air pollution. As local meteorological conditions are often manifestations of larger weather producing phenomena (e.g. anticyclones), the work presented studies the changes that may occur in the synoptic conditions associated with temperature inversions, which will consequently affect the rate of occurrence of air pollution episodes. After a brief introduction of the topic, background information on the relevant legislation and the actions taken towards an air pollution abatement strategy and a detailed literature review, the high levels of air pollution in the GCT A during winter and especially during the morning peak hour traffic and their link to temperature inversions are studied in detail for the year 2002. The large scale circulation and its link to temperature inversions are studied through the application of the Self-Organizing Maps technique using NCEP-DOE Reanalysis 2 data and making use of the findings for the year 2002. The synoptic states most associated with temperature inversions are found to be the anticyclonic conditions caused by the South Atlantic High Pressure (SAHP) system and the west coast trough associated with berg winds bringing dry continental air towards the GCT A. The 2002 data also show that more air pollution episode days are associated with west coast troughs than with the SAHP system and the average strength of the temperature inversions associated with west coast troughs is found to be approximately 50 % higher than that associated with the SAHP system. The Global Circulation Models (GCMs) ECHAM5, CNRM-CM3 and CSIRO-MK3.5 are used to study the potential changes in the future climate of the area under the IPCC A2 emissions scenario. ECHAM5 shows a small increase in the synoptic states associated with anticyclonic influence over the south western part of South Africa and CNRM-CM3 shows a small increase in both the synoptic states associated with anticyclonic influence and those associated with a west coast trough. Both models show a small decrease in the synoptic states associated with cold fronts. CSIRO-MK3.5 was not found to adequately reflect the current climatology in the domain, making it difficult to distinguish between model bias and future climate trends.