Impact of Air Pollution on Climate Fluctuations in Tehran City

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Department of Geography, Faculty of Human Science, University of Golestan

2 Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran

3 Department of Environmental Management and Planning, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran

Abstract

The expansion of urbanisation and the development of cities along with increasing population and expansion of industrial activities and irregular consumption of fossil fuels have given rise to pollution. At the first stage, its consequences impact on citizens in terms of respiratory illness and increased intensity of heart and lung diseases and, at the second stage, it plays a role in increasing climate fluctuations and environmental impacts. In the current study, two types of data are used in investigating the relationship between parameters and elements. The first data under study are the climate parameters during a statistical period of 51 years from 1952 to 2003, divided into three 17-year periods - a clean period (1952-69), an intermediate period (1970-86) and a polluted period (1987-2003) - whose fluctuations and climate vicissitudes are compared. The second variable or data under study are the type and amount of pollutants in Tehran cityduring 1997 to 2003, taken as an annual average. Totally, after various calculations, the conclusion was that during the polluted period the climate of Tehran has more fluctuations than in the two previous periods and, during the polluted period, the fluctuations of the region were seen in temperature increases, increasing potential for flooding and change in climate towards a warmer and more humid state.

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