Monitoring of Climate Characteristics During the Summer Season in Iraq
Saad M. Potrous *
Department of Petroleum and Gas Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Basra, Basra, Iraq.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Climatic characteristics and air-quality conditions were monitored during summer 2026 in Duhok, Baghdad and Basra, representing northern, central and southern Iraq. Weekly observations were recorded from 5 June to 28 August at midday (1:00–2:00 p.m.). The air-pollution values used in this study were treated as pollutant-specific Air Quality Index (AQI) sub-index values for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), ground-level ozone (O₃), PM10, PM2.5, carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), together with atmospheric pressure, wind speed, humidity and UV Index. Weekly data were summarised using means, standard deviations, ranges and 95% confidence intervals; between-governorate differences were evaluated with a Friedman test using week as the blocking factor, monotonic temporal trends with Kendall's tau-b, and associations between particulate-matter indices and climatic variables with Spearman's rho. The highest NO₂ value was 52 in Basra, the highest O₃ value was 65 in Duhok, PM10 reached 182 in Basra and PM2.5 reached 206 in Basra. CO remained at 1 in all three governorates, while the highest SO₂ value was 14 in Baghdad. Friedman tests indicated between-governorate differences for NO₂, O₃, PM10, PM2.5, SO₂, atmospheric pressure, humidity and UV Index (p<0.05), whereas wind speed did not reach statistical significance (p=0.052); CO could not be tested because it showed no variability. UV Index values ranged from 8 to 12. Overall, the findings show spatial and temporal variation in the recorded summer indicators, while the exploratory statistical analyses do not establish causal relationships.
Keywords: Air Quality Index, climatic properties, air pollution, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, humidity, UV Index