Air Quality Standards and Extreme Ozone Events in the São Paulo Megacity

Ozone events in South America might be triggered by increasing air temperatures and dry conditions, leading to vulnerable population exposure. The current air quality standards and attention levels in São Paulo state, Brazil, are 40% higher and 25% higher, respectively, than the limits recommended b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2019-07, Vol.11 (13), p.3725
Main Authors: Chiquetto, Júlio Barboza, Silva, Maria Elisa Siqueira, Cabral-Miranda, William, Ribeiro, Flávia Noronha Dutra, Ibarra-Espinosa, Sergio Alejandro, Ynoue, Rita Yuri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Air quality
Air quality standards
Air temperature
Anomalies
Asthma
Atmospheric chemistry
Costs
Developing countries
Environmental law
Exposure
LDCs
Megacities
Outdoor air quality
Ozone
Pollutants
Pollution monitoring
Population
Precipitation
Public health
Quality standards
Simulation
Socioeconomic factors
Solar radiation
Sustainability
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Summary:Ozone events in South America might be triggered by increasing air temperatures and dry conditions, leading to vulnerable population exposure. The current air quality standards and attention levels in São Paulo state, Brazil, are 40% higher and 25% higher, respectively, than the limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). We simulated an extreme ozone event in the São Paulo megacity using the Weather Research and Forecast/Chemistry model during an extreme event characterized by positive anomalies of air temperature and solar radiation. Results were evaluated using the different air quality limits from São Paulo state and the WHO, also with socioeconomic vulnerability data from the Brazilian census and cost analysis for the public health system from the extreme episode. More than 3 million people in vulnerability conditions, such as low income and families with an above-average percentage of children, live in areas where ozone concentrations exceeded the attention levels of the WHO during the episode, which is ignored by the lenient SP state environmental laws. WHO air quality guidelines must be adopted urgently in developing nations in order to provide a more accurate basis for cost analysis and population exposure, particularly the for vulnerable population groups.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su11133725