{"id":21590,"date":"2025-01-21T14:23:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T19:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/news\/?p=21590"},"modified":"2025-01-21T14:24:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T19:24:03","slug":"york-university-grad-students-take-the-measure-of-torontos-winter-urban-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/news\/2025\/01\/21\/york-university-grad-students-take-the-measure-of-torontos-winter-urban-air\/","title":{"rendered":"York University grad students take the measure of Toronto\u2019s winter urban air"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Several students are participating in SWAPIT, a large winter air quality study, run by Environment and Climate Change Canada<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who would imagine a bright, sunny winter day could have higher concentrations of some air pollutants than a hazy summer day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is it uncommon for people to consider air quality during the coldest months of the year, but scientists rarely conduct winter air quality testing, says chemistry PhD student Daniel Persaud of York University\u2019s Faculty of Science. This is likely especially true during a polar vortex like Toronto, and the rest of Canada, is currently experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more unusual, though, is the possibility that Toronto\u2019s cold winter air could be worse than in summertime, adds York\u2019s Lassonde School of Engineering master\u2019s degree student Samir Singh.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Daniel Persaud tending to High Park instruments<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Researchers won\u2019t know for sure which pollutants are worse until all measurements and analysis are done for the Study of Winter Air Pollution in Toronto<\/a> (SWAPIT), led by Environment and Climate Change Canada<\/a> (ECCC). That data analysis is currently underway for last year\u2019s campaign and SWAPIT scientists plan to meet next week to share initial results with each other to generate new insights and plan the release of the findings publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe unique thing about this study is that it's occurring during the winter months when there are different sources of pollutants from indoor heating to the de-icing of highways, which could have impacts. It is now evident that the levels of some pollutants are elevated in the winter months,\u201d says Persaud. \u201cMost of the other studies focused on smog, which normally occurs during the summer months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persaud and Singh are two of several York grad students taking part in the SWAPIT study to better understand the mix of pollutants in Toronto\u2019s urban winter air and why known pollutants haven\u2019t declined as expected over the years. Persaud is under the supervision of Professor Cora Young<\/a> with Associate Professor Trevor VandenBoer<\/a>, both atmospheric chemists in the Faculty of Science, while Singh is supervised by Associate Professor Mark Gordon<\/a>, director of the Graduate Program in Earth and Space Science at Lassonde and the Air Pollution Lab.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Elisabeth Galarneau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Elisabeth Galarneau<\/a>, air quality research scientist at ECCC, is leading the study, with York as one of the collaborators. \u201cStudies like this can lead to improved tools for testing air quality and provide better information about our urban cities across the country,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ECCC calls it the largest urban study of its kind in Canada with more than 90 scientific and technical experts with some 44 sub-projects. The winter phase of the study took place over an intensive six-week field measurement campaign last winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a need to understand what pollutants are most prevalent in the air in the winter as different sources of contaminants become more prevalent during that time compared to the summer, things like high particulate matter from forest fires which is unlikely during winter,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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