SPATIAL AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF THE PARTICULATE MATTERS (PM10) AT SELECTED SITES IN THE STATE OF KUWAIT AIR WITHIN THE PERIOD 2010–2014EMAN AHMED KALANDER AND SURA AL-HARAHSHEHAbstract Air pollution is one of biggest environmental problems as it has many negative effects, including human health and ecosystem integrity. The sources of air pollution are either natural or human induced activities leading to several airborne chemical pollutants. Air pollution is a major concern in the state of Kuwait, where petroleum industries, power plants (which run on fossil fuels), and road traffic contribute mainly to it. Kuwait suffers from air pollution effects. This research assessed the concentration of particulate matter pollutants (PM10) in relation to the meteorological parameters (wind speed and direction, temperature, and relative humidity) in three areas-Al- Jahra, Al-Rumaithiya, and Al-Fahaheel-in Kuwait during the period 2010â2014. Many monitoring stations were set-up by the Kuwait Environmental Public Authority (KEPA). The data of the pollutants of these stations were compared with the ambient air quality standards (AAQS) set for Kuwait by EPA and with the average concentrations of PM10 pollutants in the three zones. The result of this study showed that there is a relationship between PM10 pollutants and meteorological parameters as PM10 increases when the temperature and wind increase, and when the humidity decreases, the current status of particulate matter pollutants exceed the KEPA standard limits. The highest concentration of dust is in Al-Rumaithiya station with an annual average concentration of 146â330 μg/m3, followed by Al-Jahra station with an annual average concentration of 108â199 μg/m3, and the lowest is in Al-Fahaheel station with an annual average concentration of 108â177 μg/m3. |