Criteria Pollutants Levels in Ambient Air of An Urban Site in Monterrey During the Rainy Season

Beatriz Adriana Lezcano De la Cruz¹, Daniel Alfonso Che Citalán¹, Simón Eduardo Carranco², Julia Griselda Cerón Bretón¹, Rosa María Cerón Bretón¹, Reyna del Carmen Lara Severino¹, María de la Luz Espinosa³, Evangelina Ramirez Lara⁴

1. Faculty of Chemistry, Autonomous University of Carmen, Mexico

2. National Polytechnic Institute, IPN, Mexico

3. Atmospheric Sciences Center, UNAM, Mexico

4. Faculty of Chemical Sciences, UANL, Mexico

Abstract: An air quality analysis was carried out in an urban site located in the Metropolitan Zone of Monterrey during the Norths season (cold fronts) 2019-2020, considering hourly concentration data of criteria air pollutants: CO, NO₂, SO₂, PM10, PM2.5, O₃, and its compliance with the maximum permissible limits established by Mexican regulations. A Bi-variate and multivariate statistical analysis (principal component analysis) were carried out to establish relations among the measured pollutants and to infer their probable origin using tracers (vehicular emissions, combustion sources and photochemical activity) and meteorological analysis (wind roses and air masses trajectories). The influence of thermal inversions on the levels of the measured air pollutants was evaluated using the tool READY from U.S. NOAA.

Key words: air quality, monterrey, criteria air pollutants, thermal inversions