Abstract:
Daily, monthly and annual average monitoring data for PM10, meteorological parameters and
horizontal visibility at Area 11 Garki, Abuja from April 2013 to March 2015 were analyzed
using statistical methods to investigate the effect of particulate matter on horizontal visibility in
the business district of Garki, Abuja. The temporal variation of PM10 and horizontal visibility;
and correlation between, PM10 and meteorological parameters was analyzed. Additionally, the
relationship between particulate matter (PM10) and certain meteorological parameters was also
analyzed. The results show that variations in the average mass concentrations of PM10, and
horizontal visibility generally have similar distributions (except for July-August 2013), with
peak values of PM10 average mass concentrations appearing in July/August 2013 and
November/January 2014, respectively. The correlation of daily concentrations of PM10 with
Wind speed, Temperature, Wind direction and Relative humidity were high, reaching 0.98, 0.99,
0.97 and 0.98, respectively. Low wind speed led to the highest PM10 concentrations in SW
directions, while high wind speed blew air parcels with the highest concentrations from SE
direction into the study area. Temperature and wind speed influenced the transport and
accumulation of PM10 by affecting convection. The level of PM indicate that human activities
are already the main source of pollutant, and the relation between visibility and PM means that
fine particles are the most important factor affecting visibility. There was no correlation between
PM10 and visibility except in the month of February (at 0900hr); the most important cause of
visibility degradation was due to the light extinction of aerosol particles. In general, Particulate
matter (PM10) concentration is mostly affected by anthropogenic activity.
