Increased Biomass Burning Due to the Economic Crisis in Greece and Its Adverse Impact on Wintertime Air Quality in Thessaloniki

Abstract

The recent economic crisis in Greece resulted in a serious wintertime air pollution episode in Thessaloniki. This air quality deterioration was mostly due to the increased price of fuel oil, conventionally used as a source of energy for domestic heating, which encouraged the residents to burn the less expensive wood/biomass during the cold season. A wintertime sampling campaign for fine particles (PM2.5) was conducted in Thessaloniki during the winters of 2012 and 2013 in an effort to quantify the extent to which the ambient air was impacted by the increased wood smoke emissions. The results indicated a 30% increase in the PM2.5 mass concentration as well as a 2-5-fold increase in the concentration of wood smoke tracers, including potassium, levoglucosan, mannosan, and galactosan. The concentrations of fuel oil tracers (e.g., Ni and V), on the other hand, declined by 20-30% during 2013 compared with 2012. Moreover, a distinct diurnal variation was observed for wood smoke tracers, with significantly higher concentrations in the evening period compared with the morning. Correlation analysis indicated a strong association between reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity and the concentrations of levoglucosan, galactosan, and potassium, underscoring the potential impact of wood smoke on PM-induced toxicity during the winter months in Thessaloniki.

Short- and long-term variability of spectral solar UV irradiance at Thessaloniki, Greece: effects of changes in aerosols, total ozone and clouds

“…Finally, it is noteworthy that while the mean value of AOD for 2014 in the period summer-autumn is the lowest recorded since 1994, the corresponding value for the period winter-spring is the highest of the last 7 years. These very high AOD values are probably due to the increased biomassburning aerosols arising from a shift in the type of fuel owing to the economic crisis in Greece after 2009 (Saffari et al, 2013). As a consequence of the increased aerosols, the levels of irradiance at 350 nm for winter-spring 2014 are the lowest recorded during the last decade.…”

Long-term characterization of organic and elemental carbon in the PM<sub>2.5</sub> fraction: the case of Athens, Greece

“…Assuming that vehicular traffic is stable throughout the year (Grivas et al, 2012) and long-range transport and meteorology are similar over both sites, the increase in OC and EC during the cold season can be attributed to an additional primary source, most probably heating. In addition by examining the difference of OC and EC levels between Athens and Finokalia during the winter months for the whole period studied a notable increase during the 2011-2013 period compared to 2008-2010 is also observed (30 % in OC and 80 % in EC), mainly driven by wood burning activities that maximized during the last two winters (2011)(2012)(2013) in most Greek cities (Saffari et al, 2013).…”

Changes in domestic heating fuel use in Greece: effects on atmospheric chemistry and radiation

“…In Switzerland, during winter, BC from RWB contributes on average 24-33 % of measured BC levels, which is a noticeably high fraction as the contribution of wood burning to the total final energy consumption is less than 4 % (Herich et al, 2014). Saffari et al (2013) showed the connection between wood burning and increased levels of PM during the winter in Thessaloniki, while Sarigiannis et al (2014) further quantified an average increase in PM 10 (and PM 2.5 ) due to biomass burning of up to 43 µg m −3 . In Athens, the intense use of open fireplaces and woodstoves for domestic heating during the last years has caused notable increases in the ambient PM concentrations, with the contribution from biomass combustion reaching up to 70 % of the PM mass concentration during extreme pollution episodes.…”