Ozone Concentrations in Tripoli City Atmosphere, Libya

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the state of air pollution in the atmosphere of Tripoli city, which is the largest Libyan city in terms of urban structure and population, Tripoli also has a concentrated bulk of commercial activity, economic, industrial, tourism, and cultural activities in Libya. This study aimed to monitor the concentration of ozone in the city center and its relation to climate variables. The average annual concentration of ozone in the center of Tripoli was 79 μg/m³. The mean average seasons were lowest in winter and spring (36, 34 μg/m³), while the maximum concentrations were in the summer and autumn (106, 105 μg/m³) respectively. All of the average concentrations during the hour of the day did not exceed the maximum allowed by Environment General Authority-Libya (200 μg/m³). The highest monthly concentrations recorded were in August and September, reaching 127 μg/m³, while the lowest value was recorded in January, where it was 20 μg/m³. There was also an observed increase in the concentration of ozone gas due to an increase in solar radiation which automatically decreased during the night, the peak of its activity was at three o'clock in the afternoon and the reason for the increase in the concentration of averages is due to high temperature and increase in the number of hours of solar brightness, where the results proved a positive relationship (P = 0.68) between the temperature and concentration of ozone and the presence of Mean inverse relationship (P=-0.573) between wind velocity and concentration of ozone gas. As the wind speed increases, the movement of air pollutants increases and becomes more widespread.