Ag. Paliatsos et Gt. Amanatidis, SMOKE CONCENTRATIONS IN ATHENS, GREECE - TRENDS AND STRONG EPISODES, 1984-1991, Science of the total environment, 144, 1994, pp. 137-144
Daily smoke concentrations measured at four stations in the Athens bas
in, Greece, for the 8-year period 1984-1991 are studied, The analysis
showed that decreasing trends are observed at all these stations, both
urban and industrial. Despite the decreasing trends, smoke concentrat
ion levels remain high in the Athens basin and over the limit values.
Although smoke concentrations present a strong seasonal variation, wit
h a maximum during the cold period of the year and a minimum during th
e warm period, strong smoke episodes occur during the whole year. Mete
orological controls (wind speed, wind direction, temperature, relative
humidity, cloudiness and mixing height) on the smoke concentrations d
uring strong episodes were investigated and the results for two of the
se episodes (one during the cold and one during the warm period of the
year) were explicitly analysed. In general, a positive correlation is
observed between the smoke concentrations and the temperature, while
a negative correlation is observed with wind speed, cloudiness and mix
ing height.