Daily variation (in μg/m3) of PM10 concentrations in 2009

The red horizontal line represents the daily PM limit value (50 µg/m3) set in the Air Quality Directive (EC, 2008), which has 35 permitted exceedances per year.

Venice data availability starts in July 2009

Information provided in original report: “The daily variation of PM10 is quite similar in the five port areas. In Barcelona’s port area, important weekly cycles are evidenced, with highest PM levels in the middle of the week and clearly lower on Sundays. As expected, PM10 levels increase progressively during the week to reach the maximum on Thursdays. On Sundays, minimum concentrations of PM10 are recorded, which is correlated with the lower traffic displacements. A similar trend may be observed in the levels of Black Carbon, typically tracing the traffic emissions.

In Genoa’s and Marseille port areas, it can be noticed that although there are not significant differences, concentration on Sundays is lower, as an impact of the reduced vehicles circulation. Friday and Thursday were the days with the maximum daily PM10 concentration average reported, respectively.

In Thessaloniki, particles’ levels are slightly lower on Sundays, possibly due to the reduced vehicles circulation and human activity in the centre of Thessaloniki. In Venice, although there are not significant differences, concentration during weekends is slightly lower, possibly because of the reduction of vehicles circulation and human activities. Higher values were noticed during Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.