Solar radiation attenuation caused by atmospheric pollution

Abstract The attenuation of global solar radiation over the city of Amman, caused by atmospheric pollution, was investigated by comparing the measured solar radiation data during clear days with solar data obtained by a theoretical model that predicts the solar data under the same clear sky conditions. It was found that the model overpredicts the solar radiation data under such conditions, with the discrepancy between both data depending on the level of atmospheric pollution. Further, it was found that there exists a dispersion in the measured data, rather than being constant, with a maximum dispersion value of 14% during the winter season and a minimum value of 5% during late summer and early autumn.