Title: Midlatitude spatial and temporal correlations between aerosol properties and weather extremes

Authors: Florian Mandija; Megi Caushaj; Dhurata Premti; Philippe Keckhut; Dunya Alraddawi; Neki Frasheri; Floran Vila

Addresses: Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), IPSL, UVSQ/Paris-Saclay University, Sorbonne University, CNRS, Guyancourt, 78286, France ' Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, 1001, Albania ' Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, 1001, Albania ' Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), IPSL, UVSQ/Paris-Saclay University, Sorbonne University, CNRS, Guyancourt, 78286, France ' Laboratoire Atmosphères, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), IPSL, UVSQ/Paris-Saclay University, Sorbonne University, CNRS, Guyancourt, 78286, France ' Albanian Academy of Sciences, Tirana, 1001, Albania ' Albanian Academy of Sciences, Tirana, 1001, Albania

Abstract: This study investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosol loads over a mid-latitude region. The information analysed here has been provided principally by numerical models and satellite imagery. The seasons with the highest aerosol loads were spring and summer. The distribution of the Angstrom exponent shows that most of the time is dominated by the fine mode. Regarding air temperature, the charts show that the coastal regions, especially in the southwest, are those where the maximum average air temperature is found. The northeastern regions experience the lowest average temperature. A slight increase in the average temperature throughout the region indicates an internal trend. In the past forty years, there has been an average of 93 heat waves per year. Four extreme aerosol phenomena, which are characterised by different aerosol types, were thoroughly examined. Mineral dust and organic carbon and sulphate usually come from nearby deserts, while smoke can come from both local and distant regions. It was observed that there were significant correlations between aerosol load intensities and heat waves.

Keywords: aerosol loads; heat waves; numerical models; satellite products; midlatitude region.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2025.148721

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2025 Vol.75 No.2, pp.110 - 132

Received: 06 Mar 2024
Accepted: 14 Nov 2024
Published online: 21 Sep 2025 *

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