Impacts of some meteorological parameters on the characteristics of air quality over Ethiopia

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of some meteorological parameters(air temperature, wind speed, air pressure, albedo, specific humidity, surface incoming shortwave flux) on the concentrations of the major pollutants (O 3 , PM 2.5 , CO, SO 2 ) at the specific sample site of Ethiopia in the year 2023 on the bases of a hour observation. The study data were recorded on the ground with Δt = 1 hr, Δ ϕ = 0.5 0 , and Δ λ = 0.625 0 resolution that is available at Givanni website (Gelaro et al 2017 J. Clim. 30 5419–54). The resulting mean hourly data of the trace gas’s at each season was analyzed using time series via the gnuplot package, and its relationship with the meteorological parameters was done by a statistical analysis using the Python programming language. The result of the investigation revealed that the pattern of major air pollutants in the selected districts of Ethiopia propagates with different wave patterns due to a numerous sources of emissions and weather conditions. Among the major pollutants, the resultant concentrations of O 3 , SO 2 , PM 2.5 , and CO that recorded at the sample sites even in sparse population areas of Ethiopia surpassed the available standards (120 μ g/m 3 for O 3 , 125 μ g/m 3 for SO 2 , 65 μ g/m 3 for PM 2.5 , and 10 000 μ g/m 3 for CO). Those pollutants pose significant risks to human health and environment (Zhao et al 2024 Sci. Rep. 14 11190), so it is vital to create and implement emission control programs to minimize those pollutants at the sampling site.