Respirable particles, the influence of the tropical climate and the importance of monitoring air quality in the city of Manaus-AM

Abstract

With the creation of the Manaus Free Trade Zone in 1967, the growth of the city of Ma-naus accelerated rapidly, increasing the consumption of materials and energy. The num-ber of vehicles also increased, and traffic became chaotic, contributing to high emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter. The city does not have a public policy for moni-toring atmospheric air quality, but some pioneering initiatives have been implemented by researchers at the Federal University of Amazonas (ENERAR Project/NIEMA/UFAM, 2005-2012) and more recently by the Amazonas State University (EducAIR Project). This paper analyzes inhalable particle data from the Air Quality Monitoring Station ac-quired under the ENERAR project developed by NIEMA/UFAM and considers the in-fluence of the equatorial climate on emissions, analyzing the number of particles sus-pended in the air in relation to rainfall levels at the time of data collection. It also in-cludes current air quality data published by the Electronic Environmental Surveillance System (SELVA) created by the Amazonas State University. The results suggest that the frequent tropical rains, which are a feature of the local climate, help to disperse the pollu-tants, but also underline the fact that in the dry season, when rainfall is very low and wind speed is practically non-existent, the pollutants remain in the air for much longer periods.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2024.004-021