Researchers say this is because people have started burning cheaper fuel

Dec 23, 2013 08:18 GMT  ·  By
Researchers say the economic crisis that hit Greece caused people to start burning wood, other cheap fuels for warmth
   Researchers say the economic crisis that hit Greece caused people to start burning wood, other cheap fuels for warmth

A recent paper authored by Greek and American researchers shows than Greece's economic crisis has fostered one other issue that the country must now deal with. Long story short, the economic crisis has caused air pollution levels across Greece to up to a considerable extent.

In their report, the scientists detail that, according to their investigations, air concentrations of pollutants have increased especially in the regions that were hit the hardest by the economic crisis.

The researchers speculate that this happened due to the fact that, when faced with cold winter temperatures and a lack of money, people were left with no choice except burn cheaper fuel in order to stay warm.

As part of their investigation, the researchers collected and analyzed air samples from various regions across Greece. The samples were collected during a two-month period in the winter of 2012 and 2013, respectively.

It was thus discovered that, when compared to air pollution levels documented prior to the economic crisis, the ones recorded in especially poor areas in the winter of 2013 were some 30% higher.

What's more, air concentrations of fine particulate matter were found to have increased from 26 to 36 micrograms per square meter between the two winters taken into consideration.

During the same time frame, air concentrations of carcinogenic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and compounds resulting from the burning of biomass upped five times and two-to-five-times, respectively.

Interestingly enough, it appears that air quality in Greece usually took a turn for the worse during the evening. This is probably due to the fact that it was during this part of the day when people started burning cheap fuels for warmth.

“People need to stay warm, but face decreasing employment and rising fuel costs,” explains study author Constantinos Sioutas, as cited on the official website for the University of Southern California.

“The problem is economic hardship has compelled residents to burn low quality fuel, such as wood and waste materials, that pollutes the air,” he adds.