Micrometeorological Conditions That Influence the Air Quality in Houses Near High Rise Buildings – Field Results

Measurements assessing how micrometeorological conditions—driven by the proximity of large buildings—influence PM2.5 levels were conducted in an urban commune of Santiago, Chile, during the winter and spring seasons. This commune is characterized by a mixture of one story houses and high-rise building. These large building may have an influence on the air quality because they alter wind circulation or lower the temperature due to the shadow of the building. In this work, PM2.5 and meteorological parameters were measured outside three pairs of houses in winter of 2021, one of which received shadow from a nearby building and the other was under the sun. In one pair, PM2.5 was larger in the house located under the shadow of the building only during the winter months, the result was attributed to the lower temperature generated by the shadow, which inhibited PM2.5 dispersion. In another pair of houses, the result was attributed to the difference in wind speed in one of the houses, because the building acts as a windbreak. In the third pair of houses no effect was observed in PM2.5, this is probably due to the lack of significant micrometeorological differences between the two sites.