Ashfold, Matthew J. and Latif, Mohd Talib and Mokhtar, Ahmad Mirza and Abu Samah, Azizan and Mead, Mohammed Iqbal and Harris, Neil R. P. (2024) The relationship between ozone and temperature in greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Aerosol And Air Quality Research, 24 (10). ISSN 1680-8584, DOI https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.240072.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
A positive relationship between temperature (T) and the pollutant ozone (O-3) has been widely reported. Increases in T linked to anthropogenic climate change could promote increases in O-3, but the importance of this ``ozone-climate penalty'' has received little attention in tropical regions. Here we add to available evidence from the tropics by analysing the O-3-T relationship in Greater Kuala Lumpur (GKL), Malaysia. We focussed on observations from three Malaysian Department of Environment air quality monitoring sites, covering the 10-year period 2007-2016. We identified consistent patterns across the sites, with high T and O-3 year-round, modest seasonality, and a year-round positive O-3-T relationship. We quantified this relationship using regression slopes, which varied across the three sites between 2.8-4.0 ppb degrees C-1 for 50(th) percentile O-3 and between 5.6-6.7 ppb degrees C-1 for 95(th) percentile O-3. Over the study period, we found that O-3 in fixed T bins, and O-3-T slopes, were tending to decline, but that counteracting increases in T appear to result in little change in overall O-3 levels. This is an indication of an ``ozone-climate penalty'' in GKL. We also characterised increases in O-3 during a period of exceptionally high T in 2016. Our findings of a strong positive O-3-T relationship, of indications of a declining sensitivity of O-3 to T, and of co-occurring extremes of O-3 and T are broadly consistent with literature covering cities in other regions, though these features are relevant year-round in GKL. Further work is required to understand the influences of chemistry, emissions and other meteorological conditions associated with high T on O-3 and the O-3-T relationship in this region. Such an understanding would inform further controls on emissions of O-3-precursors in GKL, which appear to be critical to achieving improvements in future O-3 air quality under ongoing warming.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | Malaysian Department of Environment, Newton–Ungku Omar Fund [Grant no. IF023-2017, NE/P020941/1], Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia [Grant no. FRGS/1/2019/ WAB05/UNIM/02/1] |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Ozone; Climate change; Regional air quality |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) Q Science > Q Science (General) |
| Divisions: | Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) Office > Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Oct 2025 04:47 |
| Last Modified: | 27 Oct 2025 04:47 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/46405 |
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