Analysis of ambient ozone and precursor monitoring data in a densely populated residential area of Kuwait

Analysis of ozone (O3) pollution in the Salmiyah residential area of Kuwait was conducted over a period of 12 months, from March 2008 to February 2009. Salmiyah is a densely populated area, mainly by expatriates. Apartment buildings are the dominant type of dwellings available in Salmiyah. The area is surrounded by major highways that get congested with traffic at peak hours of the day. The objectives of this work were: to monitor ambient tropospheric levels of O3 and its precursors both for test comparing such levels to international standard limits and for assessing their health effects, to understand their diurnal behaviors, and to study their seasonal trends. The results of this study indicated that O3, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) exceeded the ambient air quality standards during specific times of the year. The diurnal patterns for NO2 and NMHC showed three peaks which were directly dependent on high traffic density, while only two daily maxima were observed in the case of O3. Finally, O3 compared to its precursors exhibited a completely opposite monthly mean distribution with the highest concentration levels detected during the summer season (July and August).