Chapter 1:Urban Air Pollution Climates throughout the World

The extent of the urban area, the local emission density, and the temporal pattern in the releases govern the local contribution to air pollution levels in urban environments. However, meteorological conditions also heavily affect the actual pollution levels as they govern the dispersion conditions as well as the transport in and out of the city area. The building obstacles play a crucial role in causing generally high pollutant levels in the urban environment, especially inside street canyons where the canyon vortex flow governs the pollution distribution. Of the pollutants dominating urban air pollution climates, particulate pollution in general together with gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals are those where further field measurements, characterization and laboratory studies are urgently needed in order to fully assess the health impact on the urban population and provide the right basis for future urban air pollution management.