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Agrometeorology

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Browsing Agrometeorology by Author "Botai, Joel."

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    Development of an air quality early warning system for the eThekwini and Msunduzi municipalities.
    (2023) Sithole, Siphesihle Fortunate.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe.; Botai, Joel.
    The aim of this study was to assess the source and concentration of criteria air pollutants, as conditioned by the weather and climate conditions, in the eThekwini and Msunduzi Local Municipalities, in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The outcomes of this assessment will contribute towards the establishment of an appropriate early warning system for the two municipalities, in order to reduce the risk of exposure to air pollution and to avoid the associated health risks. For this purpose, the study adopted various methods and tools to determine the status of air pollution within the municipalities, in terms of the exceedance of particles with an aerodynamic of less, or equal to, 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5) and less than 10 micrometres (PM10) of sulphur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines were used as a threshold for determining these exceedances. In addition, GIS software was used to determine the spatial distribution of the air pollutants, while the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 27 was used to determine the Pearson correlation between the meteorological parameters and the air pollutant concentration levels within the municipalities. The Openair package in R-Studio was used to determine the wind direction and wind speed within the areas, while the US EPA method was adopted to determine the Air Quality Index (AQI). The results of the exceedance study indicated that most of the air pollutants that were emitted exceeded those of the WHO and NAAQS thresholds, especially PM2.5 and PM10, mostly during the winter period, when temperature inversion is at its strongest. A positive relationship was determined between the air pollutants and meteorological conditions. It is worth noting that the meteorological conditions were not the only factors influencing the concentration levels, but the emissions from industries and vehicles, the burning of fossil fuels for domestic purposes and landfill sites were also observed to be contributing factors to the air pollutant concentration within the municipalities. The results of the proposed AQI showed that most of the people living in eThekwini, especially those living south of Durban, were exposed during winter season to high concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and SO2, while those of the proposed AQI in the Msunduzi Municipality were, in most cases, observed to be moderate throughout the seasons. In two cases, the Pietermaritzburg CBD and at the Pietermaritzburg Airport, the AQI was recorded as hazardous during spring and summer, respectively. According to the proposed AQI, the most dominant air pollutants are NO2 and SO2. The findings of the study suggest that people living in eThekwini and Msunduzi communities may breathe air harmful to their health and well-being, especially those living near industries and national highways. The overall findings of the study showed that the constitutional right of those living within these municipalities, “to live in an environment that is not iv harmful to their health and wellbeing”, is being violated, since they are being exposed to high air pollutant concentrations.