Effects of Elevated Humidity and Temperatures on Tropospheric Ozone Content in Iraq

This work, Iraq, is used as a case study to evaluate how temperature and relative humidity affect the amount of ozone in the troposphere at mid-latitudes. Studies were conducted over the three cities for eleven year’s period (2010–2020) using approximate monthly mean troposphere ozone column data from the OMI and MLS instruments on board the Aura satellite, along with relative humidity and temperature data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The maximum and minimum temperatures correlated positively with ozone in every station. The results showed that relative humidity and ozone have negative correlations in Erbil, Baghdad, and Basra, respectively. It was discovered that the association between temperature, relative humidity, and ozone was stronger the higher the altitude above sea level— the relationship was strongest from Basra to Erbil. Additionally, the governorate of Baghdad experiences stronger relationships between temperature (maximum and minimum) and ozone, relative humidity, and ozone during the Spring and Autumn seasons. For the three governorates of Erbil, Baghdad, and Basra, as well as for the period (2010–2020), the seasonal changes in the troposphere ozone column were also analyzed in this study. The changes were consistent for all four seasons for all three governorates. There is no excessive air pollution in the study region that poses a serious hazard to human health.