How Does the Location of Power Plants Impact Air Quality in the Urban Area of Bucharest?

This study investigates the impact of a thermal power plant site on air quality in Bucharest, Romania. It emphasizes the importance of accurate air pollutant inmission measurements in urban areas by utilizing mobile measurements of low-cost sensors, Copernicus’ Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS), and satellite retrieval to better understand climate change drivers and their potential impact on near- surface concentrations and column densities of NO2, CO, and PM (particulate matter). It focuses the attention on the need of considering the placement of power plants in relation to metropolitan areas while making this assessment. The research highlights the limits of typical mesoscale air quality models in effectively capturing pollution dispersion and distribution using LUR (Land Use Regressions) retrievals. The authors investigate a variety of ways to better understand air pollution in metropolitan areas, including satellite observations, mobile measurements, and land use regression models. The study focuses largely on Bucharest, the capital of Romania, which has air pollution issues caused by vehicle traffic, industrial activity, heating systems, and power plants. The results indicate how the placement of a power plant may affects air quality in the nearby residential areas.