Meteorological Aspects of

Unit 8 METEOROLOGICAL ASPECTS OF Air Pollution

AIR POLLUTION
Structure
8.1 Introduction
Objectives
8.2 Air Pollution Ecosystem
8.3 Primary Meteorological Parameters
Wind Speed and Wind Direction
Temperature
Atmospheric Stability
Mixing Height
8.4 Secondary Meteorological Parameters
Humidity and Precipitation
Visibility
Pressures
Solar Radiations
8.5 Influence of Stability on Stack Emissions
8.6 Meteorological Factors in Industrial Location
8.7 Urban Meteorology
8.8 Summary
8.9 Terminal Questions
8.10 Answers

8.1 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit you read about the nature and importance of atmosphere. You
would recall that atmosphere is a gaseous envelope around the globe deriving almost
all its properties like temperature, humidity and wind from earth’s surface. Also that
this atmosphere or air is getting polluted by various human activities. In the present
unit we discuss the effect of meteorological factors on air pollution. Meteorology is
the science of the atmosphere and deals with the basic physical principles as they
apply to atmospheric phenomena. Although the science of meteorology encompasses
the study of all planetary atmosphere, in this unit we will confine to the earth’s
atmosphere and that too, close to us.

The meteorological parameters responsible for making variations in atmosphere and

also various factors that affect the transport and diffusion of stack emissions will be
discussed. Some important meteorological aspects which should be considered in the
location of industries will also be described. In view of the larger urban population
and pollution, urban meteorology has also been discussed here. The effect of the
atmospheric pollution to all living beings will be discussed in detail in the next unit.

Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to:
• list and describe various primary and secondary meteorological parameters,
• explain the role of meteorology in the air pollution ecosystem,
• describe the effect of meteorological factors on the stability of atmosphere hence
on pollution transport,
• explain the meteorological factors which are to be considered in an industrial
location, and
• describe the impact of urbanisation on local climate air pollution.

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Atmosphere
Ecosystem is defined as a
unit including organisms
that function together in a
given area and interact with
the physical environment.
The word ‘eco’ means
environment.
In fact, atmosphere also
influences the
meteorological factors.
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8.2 AIR POLLUTION ECOSYSTEM
In the previous unit you learnt that composition of the atmosphere is changing directly
and indirectly due to anthropogenic factors. The presence of certain substances which
otherwise are not a component of air or the elevated levels of normal components of
atmosphere that may cause undesirable physiological or environmental effects are said
to ‘pollute’ the air. Air pollution is an issue of serious concern as it may cause long
lasting effects on the inhabitants of planet earth and may pose a threat to the
sustenance of life as it exists. It has a damaging effect on the ecosystem.
The air pollution ecosystem can be considered to consist of three phases: the release of
air pollutants at the source i.e. the emission phase, the transport and diffusion in the
atmosphere and the reception of air pollutants in reduced concentration by people,
plants, animals or inanimate objects. These three phases are shown schematically in
Fig. 8.1.
Release of Initial Atmosphe ric
air pollutants atmospheric Processes
at s ource behaviour (transport and
diffusion physical and
chemical
transformation) Wet and dry
deposition
Climatic
effects
Impact on
the receptors
Fig. 8.1: Schematic representation of air pollution ecosystem
The movements of the atmosphere are highly variable in space and time and are
responsible for the transport and diffusion of air pollutants. These are greatly
influenced by meteorological factors. The influence of meteorology is to the largest
extent during the diffusion and transport phase. The shortterm variations caused by
these influences are called the weather which gets affected by temperature, humidity,
pressure etc. On the other hand long-term variations specific to a geographical region
are referred to as climate. These variations are generally seasonal in nature.
Temperature, humidity, pressure etc. are called the meteorological parameters. These
are categoris ed into primary and secondary types depending upon the way these
influence the atmosphere. Let us learn about different meteorological parameters and
their influence on air pollution.
8.3 PRIMARY METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS
The effect of pollutant discharge in the atmosphere is greatly influenced by the
prevailing meteorological conditions like, wind speed and direction, temperature,
humidity etc.. T he significant meteorological parameters can be broadly put into two
groups viz. primary and the secondary parameters. The primary parameters influence
the movements of the pollutants directly whereas the secon dary parameters exert their
effect in directly by altering the primary parameters. The factors of the two types are
given below:
 Meteorological Aspects of
Air Pollution
Primary meteorological Secondary meteorological
parameters parameters

Wind direction and speed Precipitation

Temperature Humidity
Atmospheric stability Solar radiation
Mixing height Visibility

Let us first understand the influence of primary meteorological factors on the

dispersion of air pollutants from their point of origin.

8.3.1 Wind Speed and Wind Direction

Wind is nothing but air in motion. Wind transports pollutants from one place to
another. Though the motion of air is in three dimensions, usually, only the horizontal
component is considered in terms of its direction and speed. Vertically moving air is
referred to as an air current. Dilution of pollutants at the place of origin depends
upon wind direction and speed. Direction of wind indicates the direction of travel of
pollutants, while wind speed determines the rapidity of the dispersion of the pollutant
from its source. Other things being equal, the concentration of pollutants down wind
from a source will be inversely proportional to the wind speed; Fig.8.2.

Fig. 8.2: Variation of concentration of pollutants with wind speed.

The random motions of wind of widely different scales and periods which are
responsible for the movement and diffusion of pollutants about the mean downward
path are called atmospheric turbulence. The sudden increase in turbulence near the
surface which often occurs shortly after sunrise in summer is one of the most
important factors that modify drastically the general behaviour of an air pollutant.

Roughness of the surface, caused by trees, shrubs, buildings and other terrain features
eddy: a current as of water
over which the air is moving, induces eddy structure in the atmosphere and results into or air, moving contrary to
mechanical turbulence . In general, the higher the roughness elements the greater the the direction of the main
mechanical turbulence. Further, mechanical turbulence also increases with wind current especially in a
speed. circular motion.

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Atmosphere
plume : A space in air or
water containing pollutants
released from a point
source .
32
The stability of atmosphere induces thermal turbulence. When earth’s surface is
heated by solar radiation, the lower layer of the atmosphere becomes unstable and
leads to mixing of the air. This is referred to as thermal turbulence. It becomes
greater, especially under conditions of light winds. On clear nights with light winds,
heat is radiated from earth’s surface. Under these conditions turbulence is minimum.
These mechanical and thermal turbulences generate eddy currents which influence the
dispersion of pollutants. If the scale of motion i.e. size of an eddy is larger than size of
the pollutant plume in its vicinity, eddy will remove that portion of plume. If an eddy
is smaller than the plume, its effect will be to diffuse or spread out the plume. This
diffusion caused by eddy motion is widely variable in the atmosphere and in part
depends on the vertical temperature distribution in the lower layers of atmosphere.
Wind speed and direction are affected by a number of factors. These are discussed in
the following paragraphs.
Height an d Surface Roughness
Wind speed generally increases with height and wind direction veers (turns clockwise)
with height due to the effects of friction with earth’s surface. The amount of increase
in speed and veering in directions is widely variable and to a great extent related to the
surface roughness and atmos pheric stability. Variation of wind speed with height is
shown in Fig. 8.3.
500
450
400
350
300
Height
250
200
150
100
50
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Wind speed
Fig. 8.3: Variation of wind speed with height during day (– – – ) and night (––––)
Wind speed variation with height depends on the time of the day. During the daytime,
solar heating causes maximum turbulence and strongest vertical motions. This causes
maximum amount of momentum exchange between various levels in atmosphere.
Because of this, the variation of wind speed with height is least during the daytime.
Also the amount of veering with height is least over average terrain. The thickness of
the friction layer will also be greatest during the day due to the vertical exchange. On
the other hand, at night vertical motions are least and the effect of friction is not felt
through as deep a layer as during the day. These variations are referred to as diurnal
variations.
Valley Effects
When the general flow is light, a valley location significant ly affects the wind flow.
Valleys tend to channel the general flow along the axis resulting in a bidirectional
wind frequency distribution. When the general wind flow is light and the skies are
clear, the differences in rates of heating and cooling of various portions of the valley Meteorological Aspects of
floor and sides cause slight density and pressure differences resulting in small Air Pollution
circulations. During evening hours, radiation from earth’s surface and consequent
differences in cooling of the adjacent ground and air causes density changes. Denser
air tends to flow along the slope. This is called slope wind. If, in addition, the valley
floor has some temperature or pressure gradient, cold air will move along the valley
axis. This is usually referred to as the valley wind.

The trapping of air pollutants beneath inversion aloft (at higher levels) is a problem
encountered in a valley. Subsidence inversions (explained in subsection 8.3.3) are of
particular concern since they are usually slow moving. High concentrations may
occur particularly if the layer of air beneath inversion becomes unstable enough to mix
pollutants from elevated sources at ground level.

Sea or Lake Effects

Difference in heating and cooling of land and water surface and the air above them
results in the setting up of circulations. In summer , with clear skies and light winds in
the day, heating of the land surface adjacent to a large lake or ocean is much more
rapid than heating of the body of water. This results in temperature differences and
consequently density and pressure differences between the air just above the land
surface and the air over the water. Because of the pressure gradient forces, local
circulation is set up with wind from the water towards the land. This is called sea or
lake breeze.
At night the rapid radiational cooling of land causes lower temperatures above land
surface than over water. Thus a reverse flow, land breeze, may result. The land
breeze does not usually achieve as high a velocity as the lake breeze, and is usually
shallower than the sea or lake breeze.

In the next subsection we discuss another very important meteorological parameter

viz. temperature. Before proceeding try to answer the followin g SAQ.

SAQ 1
Fill in the blank spaces with appropriate words.

i) Meteorological factors influence the air pollution ecosystem at ……….phase.

ii) Turbulence is maximum at ……………….time while at ………. time it is
minimum under the influence of light wind.
iii) Concentration of pollutants…………….. with increase in wind speed.
iv) The ………….. breeze occurs at night time while the…… breeze occurs at day
time.

8.3.2 Temperature
Temperature is another very important meteorological parameter that affects the
dispersion or spreading out of the pollutants. Temperature is a consequence of energy
transfer from sun to earth and its atmosphere by radiation or electromagnetic waves.
Atmospher ic temperature varies both horizontally and vertically and affects the speed
and direction of wind ( as discussed above) . Let us understand how does temperature
vary in atmosphere and how does it contribute towards the dispersion of pollutants?

Variation with Height

Variation of temperature as a function of height in the atmosphere was discussed in
Unit 7 ( subsection 7.3.2). You would recall that temperature of atmosphere changes The lower troposphere is
in a complex way as we go away from the surface of earth. In fact, on the basis of the region of most interest
temperature variations atmosphere has been classified into four characteristic regions, in air pollution
viz., troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. However, in the meteorology.

33
Atmosphere
Stable atmosphere: the
condition of atmosphere
where vertical mixing of
pollut ants gets restricted
due to lower env ironmental
lapse rate as compared to
the dry adiabatic lapse rate.
The manner in which
temperature changes with
height at any one time is the
environmental or
prevailing lapse rate.
34
present context we are concerned with the lower regions of the atmosphere extending
from the surface to about 2 km. Here, temperature distribution varies considerably
depending upon the characteristics of the underlying surface and upon the radiation at
the surface. Though in the troposphere, temperature decreases with height, in this
lower region temperature may decrease or increase with height. This increase in
temperature instead of the expected decrease is called inversion and has been
explained in subsec. 8.3.3.
Beyond the lower region, remainder of the troposphere has a normal decrease of
temperature with height, of the order of about 6.5°C/km.
Horizontal Variation
Temperature also varies in the horizontal particularly with latitude, being cooler near
the poles and warmer near the equator. However, the influence of continents and
oceans have considerable effects on modifying temperatures. The continents have
more extreme temperatures becoming warmer in summer and colder in winter,
whereas the oceans maintain a more or less moderate temperature round the year.
In the following subsection we will see how vertical and horizontal temperature
variations affect the stability of the atmosphere.
8.3.3 Atmospheric Stability
Stability of atmosphere is highly dependent upon the vertical distribution of
temperature with height. It is important to understand the following terms in this
context and their significance there of.
Adiabatic Lapse Rate
You have read that temperature of atmosphere is basically a result of the solar energy
received by earth. The solar energy gets redistributed by movement of heavy mass of
air with varying pressures. Due to the decrease of pressure with height, a parcel of air
lifted to a higher altitude encounters decreased pressure and expands. This expansion
causes cooling. If this expansion takes place witho ut loss or gain of heat (that is
isothermally) to the parcel, the change is called adiabatic. Similarly a parcel of air
forced downward in the atmosphere will encounter higher pressure, will contract and
will become warmer. The rate of cooling with lifting or heating with descent is called
the dry adiabatic lapse rate and is approximately 1°C/100 metres of altitude. This
lapse rate is the rate of heating or cooling of any descending or rising parcel of air in
the atmosphere and should not be confused with the existing temperature variation
with height at any one time, which is called the environmental or prevailing lapse
rate.
The environmental lapse rate is principally a function of temperature of the air and
of the surface over which the air is moving and of the rate of exchange of heat
between the air and the surface. For example, on clear summer days the ground will
be rapidly heated by solar radiation resulting in rapid heating of the layers of the
atmosphere nearest to surface, but further aloft, the atmosphere will remain relatively
unchanged. At night radiation from the earth’s surface cools the ground and the air
adjacent to it, resulting in only slight decrease of temperature with height or if surface
cooling is large enough, temperature will increase with height.
If the temperature decreases more rapidly with height than the dry adiabatic lapse rate,
the air has a super-adiabatic or strong lapse rate and the atmosphere is unstable. If
parcel of air is forced upwards it will cool at the adiabatic lapse rate, but will still be
warmer than the environmental air. Similarly, a parcel which is forced downward,
will heat with dry adiabatic rate but will remain cooler than the environment and
continue to sink.
For environmental lapse rates that decrease with height at a rate less than the dry Meteorological Aspects of
adiabatic lapse rate (sub-adiabatic or weak lapse or slightly stable ), a lifted parcel Air Pollution
will be cooler than the environment and will sink; a descending parcel will be warmer
than the environment and will rise. Graphs showing the relative relationship between
the temperature and altitude are given in Fig. 8.4 for super-adiabatic, sub-adiabatic,
isothermal and inversion (discussed in next paragraph) conditions .

Fig. 8.4: Graphs showing relationship between temperature and altitude for
super-adiabatic (……….), sub-adiabatic (– – – – –), isothermal(———)
and inversion(? ? ? ? ) conditions
Temperature Inversions
Sometimes the temperature of air parcel movin g upwards increases as it goes higher
instead of the usual decrease with altitude. This situation results into a high
atmospheric stability i.e. the vertical air movement is stopped, consequently the air
pollutants concentrate below the level of this stagnant air layer. The phenomenon is
referred to as temperature inversion and is responsible for trapping pollutants at
localised areas. The relationship between envir onmental lapse rate and dry adiabatic
lapse rate at this condition has been shown in Fig. 8.4. Temperature inversion may Dew point: the temperature
occur at night when the heat absorbed by earth’s surface (especially the urban areas at which saturation is
without a good greenery) escapes into sky and layer of air immediately above the reached if the air is cooled
surface cools. This cooling is accelerated by humidity and coldness leading to fog at constant pressure without
formation and dew point i.e. water condensation. The layer is covered by warmer air addition or loss of moisture;
is one measure of the
above having high amount of pollutants which stops the vertical movement of air until amount of moisture in the
the solar radiation with the beginning of day warm the lower layer. The phenomenon air.
of temperature inversion is depicted schematically in Fig. 8.5.

Fig 8.5: Diagrammatic sketch showing temperature inversion phenomenon

35
Atmosphere
When both, the radiation
inversion and the
subsidence inversion take
place simultaneously it is
referred to as double
inversion .
Convection is the
mechanism by which abrupt
temperature variations
occur when large masses of
air (warm or cold) move
across an area.
Ventilation coefficient
determines the air pollution
potential of a locality.
36
This type of inversion is common in winters and also valley areas where horizontal air
movement is less. It is referred to as radiation inversion. Another type of inversion is
called subsidence inversion occurring at high pressure areas surrou nded by low
pressure areas. Here the descending air is compressed and gets heated to form a warm
dense layer. The latter forms a cap which prevents upward movement of pollutants.
The radiation inversion does not last for too long especially in a country like India
where the intense sun radiation is able to clean the stagnant air layer in the day time.
However, the subsidence inversion, w hich occurs at m odest altitudes, often remains
for several days.
8.3.4 Mixing Height
Another meteorological factor that restricts the vertical spread of pollutants is mixin g
height, the limit upto which the day time convective activity extends. It is the
thickness of atmospheric layer measured from the surface upward, through which
pollutants are presumed to mix by virtue of convection caused by daytime heating at
the surface. Low mixing heights with strong winds have the same effects on pollution
transport as light winds with larger mixing heights. In air pollution potential
forecasting, the ventilation coefficient, a product of mixing height and average wind
speed in the layer is generally employed. High air pollution potential signifies that
provided a source or sources of pollution exist serious problems can arise.
Mixing heights are absent in rural areas at night but replaced by ground based
temperature inversion in which vertical mixing is minimal. Mixing heights over urban
areas vary diurnally by more than two orders of magnitude. Mixing heights are rarely
measured directly but are determined from the vertical temper ature distribution.
Before proceeding to the secondary meteorological parameters try to answer the
following SAQs.
SAQ 2
Match the following correctly.
i) super-adiabatic 1) neutral atmosphere
ii) sub-adiabatic 2) unstable atmosphere
iii) isothermal 3) stable atmosphere
SAQ 3
Complete the following statement choosing an appropriate answer.
Lapse rate is defined as :
i) rate of lapse of temperature with height.
ii) rate of change of temperature with height.
iii) rate of change of temperature at any one time.
8.4 SECONDARY METEOROLOGICAL PARAMETERS
As mentioned in Section 8.3, secondary meteorological parameters affect the
transmission of air pollutants by influencin g primary parameters. Let us learn about
these briefly in the following subsections.
8.4.1 Humidity and P recipitation
You read in the previous unit that water can be present in the form of vapour, liquid or
ice in atmosphere and an increasing amount of water vapour in our atmosphere is
becoming one of the causes of global warming. The water vapour content of air is
referred to as humidity and when present amount of water vapour is expressed as a
ratio of the maximum amount that air can hold at that temperature, it is called relative Meteorological Aspects of
humidity. Liquid water in atmosphere is present as clouds and is responsible for Air Pollution
precipitation.

Precipitation ( or rainfall ) is one of the most important natural removal or cleaning

process in the atmosphere. The contaminants contained in cloud particles grow to rain
drops which reach the surface in the form of precipitation. As discussed in the
previous unit, many small particles act as nuclei of condensation and are thus removed
in rain. When precipitation sweep out the contaminants during the descent, the process
of removal may be termed as washout. There is no doubt that some large particles are
collected and washed out by rain drops during their descent. Cleansing by this type of
rain action is thus limited to removal of the large particles.

8.4.2 Visibility
Visibility is described as the haze that reduces the clarity, colo ur, texture and form of
the atmosphere as we see it. Under clear skies at night the ground loses much heat
because of out going radiation, therefore the air in contact with the ground gets cool.
If, in such cases air is sufficiently humid, cooling brings the air to saturation point haze: it is the atmospheric
moisture, dust, smoke and
resulting in fog formation. This is called radiation fog and is quite common in valley vapour that diminish
locations. The top layer of fog radiates essentially as a black body and cools further, visibility of atmosphere.
thus forming an inversion layer directly above the fog. As the earth continues to
radiate in the infra red region, the fog droplets absorb nearly all this heat since the
droplet size distribution is similar to the wavelengths of the radiation.

These changes alter the atmospheric stability and thereby af fect the dissipation of
pollutants. When the top of a fog layer radiates during night, the interior of the layer
becomes more unstable with time. This causes increased vertical mixing from below
but gets capped by the inversion above the fog layer. Since the air is saturated, an
unstable lapse rate would exist if the temperature decrease with height is greater than
the moist or pseudo-adiabatic rate rather than the dry adiabatic lapse rate.

Pollutants that are emitted aloft into an originally stable layer at night and do not
normally reach the ground until morning, may be contained within a fog layer as the
night progresses and be brought to the ground in relatively high concentrations.
Albedo: measure of
reflectivity of a surface or
After the day break, fogs often persist for several hours or even the entire day under body; it is the ratio of
full sunlight due to high reflectivity (albedo) of thick fogs (average 50% and can be as electromagnetic radiation
high as 85%). This delays and lessens the heating of the ground and subsequent reflected to the amount
incident upon it.
evaporation of the fog droplets. This again affects stability of the atmosphere. An
unstable lapse rate may occur above the fog layer but due to lack of surface heating an
inversion may often occur within the layer. In presence of high concentrations of Particulates: solid and
particulate pollutants, it may be difficult to determine just when the fog has dissipated liquid particles dispersed in
since particulates scatter and absorb visible light very well and the visibility remains air.
quite restricted.

8.4.3 Pressures
Low (cyclonic) and high pressure (anticyclonic) systems affect air pollution potential
due to the accompanying atmospheric stability.

Cyclones are characteris ed by :

• uplifting of air,
• generally stormy weather,
• fast moving system- moderate to high winds.

All above factors are conducive to good dispersion and natural removal of
contaminants released into the atmosphere.

37
Atmosphere Anticyclones are characteris ed by:
• subsidence of air (subsidence inversion),
• generally fair weather ,
• slow moving or stagnating system – light to calm surface winds .

All the above factors are conducive to the build up of pollutants released into the
atmosphere over a region.

8.4.4 Solar Radiations

It was mentioned earlier that solar radiation are the prime source of energy to earth
and its atmosphere. The radiations have peak energy transmission in the visible range
i.e. 400 – 750 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum but considerable energy is released
in the ultraviolet and infrared regions as well.

Depending upon the location, solar radiation can have pronounced effect on the type
and rate of chemical reactions that occur in the atmosphere. Some of the radiations
absorbed are reflected from top of clouds and land and water surfaces of earth. The
general reflectivity, as mentioned before, is known as albedo, which is 36% for earth-
atmosphere system and affects the mean conditions of cloudiness over earth. This
reflectivity is greatest in the visible range of wavelengths. When the light radiation
passes through a matter containing particles of diameter less than that of wavelength
of light, scattering of a portion of this radiation takes place. Shorter wavelengths
scatter more easily and are responsible for blue colour of sky.

The earth reradiates energy in proportion to its temperature. Because of the earth’s
temperature, maximum emission is at about 10,000 nm which is in the infrared region
of the spectrum. Water vapour absorbs strongly between 5,500 and 7,000 nm and at
greater than 27,000 nm but is essentially transparent from 8,000 to 13,000 nm. Carbon
dioxide absorbs strongly between 13,000 and 17,500 nm. Because of the absorption
of much more of the terrestrial radiation by the atmosphere than of the solar radiation,
some of the heat energy of the earth is conserved. As you read in the previous unit,
this effect is called “greenhouse effect”.

SAQ 4
Tick Mark (√) in front of correct and (X) in front of wrong statements.

a) Water is present in all the states i.e. solid, liquid and gas in the atmosphere.
b) High pressures are important for natural sources of atmosphere cleaning.
c) The albedo is maximum in the visible range wavelength of solar radiation.
d) A stormy weather results due to low pressure systems.

8.5 INFLUENCE OF STABILITY ON STACK EMISSIONS

Diffusion of stack emissions is primarily a function of stability of the atmosphere. The
Stack : a chimney or a Pollutants are emitted from the stack in the form of a plume. Plume refers to the path
vertical exhaust pipe. taken and the shape acquired by the released gases. Different types of plume arise
depending on the nature of different variation of temperature with height or
Ambient: of the atmospheric stability and the height of the stack. The ambient temperature at the
surrounding area
pollutant source affects plume rise. The rise of plume above the stack is directly
proportional to the difference between the stack gas temperature and the ambient air
temperature. The various types of plumes are shown schematically in Fig.8.6 and are
described briefly in the paragraphs given below.

38
 Meteorological Aspects of
Air Pollution

Fig. 8.6: Diagrammatic sketch showing plume behaviour

Looping
A plume having a wavy character is called ‘looping’ and occurs in a highly unstable
atmosphere with a super adiabatic lapse rate. Under such conditions large thermal
eddies are developed in the unstable air and high concentrations of stock emissions
may be brought to the ground for short time periods. However, in considering longer
time periods if diffusion is good, the looping occurs in light winds with strong solar
heating. On the other hand cloudiness or high winds will prevent such unstable
conditions from forming.

Coning
A plume in the shape of a cone develops under the conditions of slight instability of
the atmosphere caused by vertical temperature gradient between any adiabatic and
isothermal temperature distributions. This leads to horizontal and vertical mixing but
not as intense as in the looping situations. As a consequence the plume reaches the
groun d at greater distances than with looping.

Fanning
Such a plume is formed under the conditions of temperature inversion. As the
temperature increases upward, the air is stable and vertical turbulence is suppressed.
The plume therefore spreads horizontally but little if any, vertically. Horizontal mixing
is not as great as in coning but still it occurs. Plume concentrations are high but little
emissions from elevated sources reach the ground in this situation except when the
inversion is broken due to surface heatin g, or terrain at the elevation of the plume is

39
Atmosphere encountered. Clear skies with light winds during the night are favourable conditions
for fanning.

Lofting
Lofting occurs when there is super adiabatic layer above a ground based inversion.
Under this condition diffusion is rapid upward but downward diffusion does not
penetrate the inversion. With these conditions gases will not reach the surface but
particles with appreciable settling velocities will drop through the inversion. Near
sunset on a clear evening in open country is most favourable for lofting. Lofting is
generally a transition situation and as the inversion deepens it is replaced by fanning.

Fumigation
As solar heating increases, the lower layers are heated and a super adiabatic lapse rate
occurs through a deeper and deeper layer. When the layer is deep enough to reach the
fanning plume, thermal turbulence will bring high concentration to the ground along
the full length of the plume. This is followed by clear skies and light winds and is apt
to occur more frequently in summer due to increased heating.

Trapping
Here, the plume is trapped between two inversions and therefore can diffuse only
within a limited range of height.

SAQ 5
Name the behaviour of plume rise

a) when there is a super-adiabatic layer above a surface inversion.

………………………………………………………………………………………
b) when the condition is super –adiabatic light winds and strong polar heating.

………………………………………………………………………………………
c) when the condition is adiabatic and it is shape based.

………………………………………………………………………………………

8.6 METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS IN INDUSTRIAL

LOCATION
Industries are integral part of the fast developing world. At the same time these
industries are blamed to be one of the major sources of all types of pollution − air
pollution being an important constituent. It therefore becomes imperative that proper
care should be taken up before setting up an industry or while relocating the older
polluting industries. A knowledge of the meteorological parameters discussed above
provide essential inputs in the decision making. While setting up an industry the
following aspects are very important.
• Selection of location
• Industrial design and operations

Selection of Location
While laying out zones for industrial use or in identifying casual factors in existing
pollution problem and in establishing air quality criteria, weather and climatic factors
are to be taken into account. The influence of both regional and local weather and
climate should be considered. In one region winds may be generally light and
diffusion may be slow; in another the opposite may be true, with predominantly
strong and variable winds and rapid diffusion. If a site for a new industrial plant is
40
being considered, the pollution hazard will be minimised by choosing a geographical Meteorological Aspects of
area of the country which has a climatic regime favourable for atmospheric diffusion. Air Pollution
The important characteristics of a region may be found by an analysis of a long term
record at single representative weather maps.

Once a suitable geographical area has been chosen, the micrometeorology i.e., the Micrometeorology: refers
local features of weather and climate of various plant sites should be examin ed. It is to the localised
meteorological conditions
seldom realis ed how great the variations in weather and climate may be. There may
be greater meteorological and climatological differences between various local areas
in a city than there are between two cities several hundred miles apart. These local
differences are dependent upon topography, soil conditions, type and location of
vegetation cover, location of build up area etc., If suitable data is not available, there
is no alternative but to undertake a programme of observations at one or more sites.
Even if the plant location has already been chosen, it is desirable to commence
measurements of existing concentration of contaminants and associated
meteorological conditions before the construction starts. These will provide a baseline
for evaluating the contribution of the new plant to the local pollution after it has gone
into production. Such measurements should continue during the construction period of
plant and for at least a full year after production starts in order to determine the actual
pollution and its probable future limits.

Industrial Design and Operation

Meteorology can also contribute towards the decision making of the plant design and
plant operation. The shape and orientation of plant buildings is important. Around
some plants a downwash of stack gases occurs when the wind speed exceeds certain
critical values. These critical speeds vary with the aerodynamic properties of plant
structures and with direction. A climatological study of the frequency, duration and
directional distribution of strong winds will permit plant design and orientation to
inimise this problem. It may be mentioned that the region of disturbed flow surrounds
a building generally to twice its height and 5 to 10 times its height downwind. It is
also of interest to note that the maximum downwash about a rectangular structure
occurs when the direction of the wind is at an angle of 45° from the major axis of the
structure and that minimum downwash occurs with wind flow parallel to the major
axis of the structure (Fig. 8.7).

(a) (b)

Fig. 8.7: Effect of buildings on wind flow showing (a) less downwash (b) more downwash

Emissions from flush opening on flat roofs frequently flow in a direction opposite to
that of the free atmospheric wind due to counter flow along the roof in the turbulent
wake above the building. In addition to the effect of aerodynamic downwash upon the
release of air pollutants from stacks and buildings, it is also necessary to consider

41
Atmosphere
Buoyancy (ht.hv): the
upward thrust exerted upon
a body immersed in a fluid,
equal to the weight of the
fluid displaced.
Agglomeration: act or
process of gathering into a
mass.
Updraft: a strong upward
air current.
Conurbations: term used
for urban clusters where the
built up zones of influence
of distinct cities or towns
have joined but each
continues to act as an
independent focus for a
substantial part of the area.
42
aerodynamic downwash when exposing meteorological instruments near or upon
buildings so that representative measurements are assured.
Large power plants emit heat to such an extent that above circulation patterns set up in
the air surrounding the plant. The “2½” rule (plume released 2 ½ times the height of
building) will tend to eliminate downwash and the “4/3” rule (exit velocity of plume
greater by 4/3 times the horizontal wind speed) for stack gas velocity will tend to
eliminate entrainment of the pollutants into the wake of the stack. The pollution
hazard is reduced by higher stacks. Costs also increase with stack height and there
may be other limitations on stacks especially near airports. A pressing problem in
plant design is, therefore for choice of a stack height which will minimise pollution
and will not be expensive. Knowledge of depth and frequency of occurrence of
inversions aid in designing stacks. Generally, higher the stack, lower the ground level
pollutant concentrations at any given point downwind, under the same meteorological
conditions. The stack heigh is actually measured in terms of effective stack height.
Effective stack height is the physical height of the stack, H, plus the height
differential ht due to exit velocity, hv. The product of ht and hv is called as buoyancy.
Buoyancy will be positive if the exit velocity is higher than the outside wind speed by
at least a factor of 4/3. The factor ht will be positive if the stack gas temperature,
which determines the buoyancy of the plume, is higher than the ambient air
temperature. In this case, the absorption of heat due to condensation of water vapour
may lead to lowered effective stack height. The condition w hen ht is negative is one
cause of ‘downwash’. Increase in effective stack height may be obtained by increasing
the exit velocity, raising the stack gas temperature or building a taller stack. It is
important to remember that dilution is a function of the volume of air through which a
pollutant is mixed.
Developing of green areas, upto a distance of 1–2 km to the lee side of the industrial
complex also play a major role in air quality management. By doing so, not only the
turbulence will increase but it will reduce the wind also. Tall hedges also act as filters
for noise and air pollution.
SAQ 6
What is the effective stack height? How does it affect the down wash of pollutants?
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8.7 URBAN METEOROLOGY
It is well agreed that material injection (water vapour, volatile organic compounds and
particles), heat injections, surface albedo changes (building and roads with different
reflecting properties) and changes in roughness are consequences of urbanis ation and
industrialisation. Urban agglomerations increase temperatures, steepen low level lapse
rates, slow horizontal winds and induce updrafts. Urbanisation also increases
turbulence, cloud formation and fog and reduces near surface humidities. Pollutants
are increased one to several orders of magnitude. They reduce solar radiation intensity,
visibility and shorten the sunshine duration. Their effect on cloud formation and
rainfall over and in the vicinity of the cities is still somewhat uncertain but evidence
points to occasional cases of stimulation of precipitation and perhaps some cases of
inhibition. Although city pollution plumes have occasionally been followed for long
distances of several hundred kilometers, there is presently no sign of other notable
effects of city influence on meteorological variables beyond a few kilometres or
atmost several tens of kilometres. But as cities grow into large conurbations one can
foresee that they will have notable regional weather effects.
Let us try to understand the effects of urbanisation on various meteorological parameters Meteorological Aspects of
which in turn are important from air pollution ( or its management ) point of view. It Air Pollution
gives a comparative account of all the factors discussed below vis-à-vis rural areas.

Temperature
The urban areas lack enough greenary and have a number of heat retaining gases like
CO2 developed due to human activities. This results into development of heat domes in
the cities which are like hot caps in the atmosphere. These have a temperature almost
5°C more than the surrounding area and such cities are referred to as heat islands. An
isothermal analysis of observations from a network of urban climatological observations
and mobile surveys at Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi shows the existence of warm
pockets and cold pools. The intensity of heat island is a function of population and city
size. The intensity, size and shape and position of warm pockets have been studied with
reference to the wind speed and direction.

It is well known that the centre of a city is warmer than its rural environs forming a heat
island. Heat develops following sunset. The growth and intensity of heat island depends
upon the cooling rates of urban and rural environments. Because of the markedly
different surfaces, the rates of cooling of urban-rural environs differ widely and the
growth of the heat island intensity varies with time of the night, attaining maximum at
the time of minimum temperature. During day time particularly between sunrise and
noon, urban and nonurban temperatures are nearly the same. The change of temperature
with height is quite different over the city especially at night. In the open country
radiation inversions exist through the night with a radiation inversion layer above the
lapse conditions.

Humidity
Cities have lower relative humidities partly due to higher temperature, but there is also
lower absolute humidity due to rapid run off of precipitation in the cities. Also the
existence of little vegetation in the city reduces moisture received from Absolute humidity: the
evapotranspiration processess. Relative humidities, being function of prevailing amount of water vapour
temperatures, are normally found to be inversely related in towns to the local intensity of present in a unit volume of
air: usually expre ssed in
the urban heat island. On an average urban-rural differences are reported to by 5% but
kilograms per cubic meter.
on individual nights these difference may approach 20 - 30%.

Precipitation
Precipitation is one of the most widely variable meteorological parameters hence it is
difficult to establish significant differences between urban and nonurban areas.
However, numerous studies have shown either greater precipitation amounts and/or
greater frequency of precipitation within cities. Some studies show less increase on
Sundays than on week days.

The principal suspected cause of the increase of precipitation over cities is the increase
of condensation nuclei over cities due to air pollutants and the increased turbulence over
the city due to both increased roughness of the surface and release of heat from the city.
Although water vapour is added to the air from condensation sources this is not
expected to add significant precipitable water to have major effects.

Cloudiness
Climatological records show slight increase in cloud cover – an observation of much
subjectivity. Any increase may be primarily due to city fogs, as increase in early
morning cloud cover seems to be greatest. Nearly all large cities show a decrease in the
number of clear days over that observed in adjacent rural areas. The primary effects
may be expected due to addition of condensation nuclei by air pollution and the release
of additional water vapour.

43
Atmosphere
Synoptic systems: of or
relating to, data obt ained
nearly simultaneously over
a large area of atmosphere.
44
Wind
Urban climate is influenced considerably by wind. Cities located on the coasts are
affected by land and sea breezes. Inland stations may be affected by katabatic
(downslope)/anabatic (upslope) winds if they are close to the hills or to other airflow
patterns depending on the terrain features and surrounding distribution of land, water
and vegetation. Superimposed on these local wind effects are the effects of the
prevailing wind which are a part of large scale circulations modified from time to time
by synoptic systems such as low pressure areas, depressions or storms. Wind can effect
urban climate from the comfort point of view. For instance, on a cold day strong wind
can heighten the discomfort by what is popularly know n as the ‘wind chill’ effect. On
the other hand on a hot sunny day a good breeze can cause evaporative cooling and offer
considerable relief to human beings. Light wind blowing across a city in the early hours
of the morning in the cold weather period, for example, can modify the heat island
extent and intensity.
Apart from the effect of the general prevailing winds over a city there are other aspects
of airflow to be considered. Urban environments consist of structures acting as barrier,
which can also modify the airflow pattern by causing eddies which can effect the
immediate neighbourhood. The effect of air flow on urban climate is, therefore, a
complex problem and very detailed studies are called for with reference to particular
cities.
Radiation
The decrease of solar radiation within cities as compared to rural areas is of the order of
15 to 20%. This is due to the absorption, reflection and scattering of particles in the
atmosphere and the absorption of gases. These particles and gases are primarily the
result of air pollution. The radiation most affected is that of the ultraviolet with the
infrared being the least affected. This is of importance due to the bactericidal effect of
ultraviolet radiation. Sunshine duration in urban areas decreases by 5 to 15%.
Visual range
The decrease of visibility in urban areas is probably the most noticeable of
meteorological differences between urban and rural areas. Comparisons between
observations of visibility at city and rural locations have shown higher frequencies of
fog, smoke and low visibilities than in neighbouring rural areas. Recent studies indicate
that several cities showed trends towards lowering of visibilities. The main causes of
deteriorating visibility are increased industrialisation and large population.
SAQ 7
Complete the following choosing an appropriate answer.
A heat island is defined as,
i) an island with very high temperature.
ii) an area with a relatively higher temperature than the surrounding areas and depends
upon population and city size.
iii) A nongreen area especially in urban areas.
SAQ 8
State whether fog formation in urban areas is at higher frequencies or lower frequencies
as compared to that in neighbouring rural areas. Also state the reason.
…………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………...
 Meteorological Aspects of
8.8 SUMMARY Air Pollution
Meteorology is the science of atmosphere and deals with physical principles involved
there in. Various primary and secondary meteorological factors affect air pollution to
a good extent and thus affect all living beings on earth. T he primary parameters include
wind direction and speed, temperature, atmospheric stability and mixing height.
Humidity, precipitation, pressures and solar radiation constitute the secondary
parameters.

To plan any new industry, the prevailing meteorological factors over that area are very
important and should be considered from its location, design and operation points of
view. The impact of urbanisation and distribution of various meteorological parameters
in the urban areas compared to rural areas is quite distinct and need to be considered
thoughtfully for reducing air pollution in urban areas.

8.9 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. What is the approxim ate value of dry adiabatic lapse rate? How is it different
from the environmental lapse rate?
2. Distinguish between mechanical and thermal turbulence.
3. Write down the characteristic features of wind during the course of a day.
4. Distinguish between rain out and washout.
5. What is the major cause of land and sea breeze?
6. What is the ventilation coefficient?
7. Write down the possible ways to increase the effective stack height.
8. What is the impact of urbanisation on relative humidity and pollutants?
9. In the view of human comfort, what is the role of high wind speed in winter and
summer?
10. What is the effect of ambient temperature on plume rise?

8.10 ANSWERS
Self Assessment Questions

1. i) diffusion and transport

ii) day, night
iii) decreases
iv) land, sea

2. i) 2)
ii) 3)
iii) 1)

3. ii)

4. a) √ b) X c)√ d) √

5. a) lofting
b) looping
c) coning

45
Atmosphere 6. Effective stack height is the sum of physical stack height and the height
differential due to exit velocity. If height differential is negative (i.e. the stack gas
temperat ure is lower than the ambient temperature) evaporation of water vapour
may lead to increased effective stack weight and is the cause of downwash.

7. ii)

8. higher frequencies. Industrialisation and large population are the reasons for
higher frequencies.

Terminal Questions
1. 1°C/100 m. Dry adiabatic lapse rate is the rate of change in temperature of an air
parcel moving upwards or downwards in the atmosphere whereas environmental
lapse rate is the variation in temperature of air at a given time.

2. Mechanical turbulence : it is induced by the roughness of the underlying surface.

Thermal turbulence : it is induced by the stability of atmosphere.

3. T he change of wind speed and veering with height is less during day time
compared to night time because of more vertical mixing in day time.

4. Washout is the interception and subsequent removal of particulates from the

atmosphere by falling rain drops, where as, rain out is the collection and
subsequent removal of particulates from the atmosphere by cloud particles prior
to their growth and descend as rain drops.

5. Differential heat capacity of land and water.

6. It is the product of mixing height and average wind speed in the layer.

7. It can be done by increasing the exit velocity of the plume, raising the stack gas
temperat ure and building a taller stack.

8. It lowers the relative humidity and increases the air pollution.

9. In winter , high wind speed causes discomfort by wind-chill whereas in summer

the same causes evaporative cooling and offers considerable relief to human
beings.

10. The rise of plume above the stack is directly proportional to the difference
between the stack gas temperature and the ambient air temperature.

46