Temporal variations of air pollutants and meteorological variables over a tropical station in Osogbo, Nigeria

Abstract

This study analyzed the level and temporal variations of the air pollutants with the prevailing meteorological variables using four months dataset (April 4-July, 2022) in Osogbo, Nigeria. Multiple Linear Regression was employed to assess the relationships while Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) was adopted to identify pollutants transport path. The results revealed that PM2.5 levels exceeded the national and international standards of $$\:40\:$$and $$\:35\:{\upmu\:}\text{g}{\text{m}}^{-3}$$, respectively due to strong anthropogenic influences, while Ozone, CO and CH4 showed two distinct diurnal peaks linked to traffic emissions. Also, air pollutants had weak correlations ranging from − 0.34 to 0.39 with meteorological variables and evidence from trajectory analysis highlighted both local and transboundary pollution sources, underscoring the need for seasonally tailored mitigation strategies.