Variability of PM10 particulate matter concentrations in the area of Krościenko nad Dunajcem in the years 2018-2022

Frequent exceedances of permissible PM10 concentrations occur mainly during the so-called heating season and are readily noticed not only by environmental protection specialists but al-so by residents; they are also wildly discussed in the mass media. If the state of elevated concentrations persists for at least several hours, it is generally referred to as smog. The duration of smog can range from several hours to several days, causing an increase in morbidity and in the number of deaths. The paper presents the air-sanitary situation in Krościenko nad Dunajcem using the air quality indicator as the concentration of particulate matter PM10. Krościenko is a Carpathian town located in the valley of the Dunajec river. Such a topo-climatic location is conducive to the occurrence of frequent temperature inversions, stagnant cold air and poor ventilation, which results in the concentration of local emissions mainly from domestic boilers. The research period covered the years 2018-2022 of continuous daily D24 PM10 measurements. Preliminary comparisons of annual concentrations with selected cities located in mountainous and foothill areas of southern Poland indicated the aerosanitary problem of Krościenko. In all analyzed years, the daily norms were exceeded from 46 days in 2022 to 91 days in 2018. This situation occurs as a result of the low-stack emission during the heating period and the poor topoclimatic conditions in Krościenko. However, there is a visible downward trend in concentrations over the analyzed period, which may have resulted from the gradual reduction of the use of fossil fuels