On September 15–19, the 23rd International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes (HARMO23) took place in Hamburg. Experts from the Institute of Environmental Protection – National Research Institute (IOŚ-PIB) participated in the event: Paweł Durka from the Department of Atmospheric and Climate Modelling and Anahita Sattari from the Central Emission Database Team of KOBiZE.
The conference was opened on Tuesday by Paweł Durka, who presented “The Role of Data Fusion in Air Quality Forecasting in Poland in Relation to the Obligations of the AAQD Directive (2881/2024)”. In his talk, he highlighted the potential to improve the reliability of air quality forecasts through the use of measurement data fusion, which is of key importance in the context of increasing governmental obligations regarding public information and short-term action in the event of smog episodes. His presentation received considerable interest from the audience.
On Friday, Anahita Sattari delivered a presentation titled “Enhanced Bottom-up Residential Heating Emission Inventory in Poland”. She discussed the improvement of the methodology for emission inventory in the residential and commercial heating sector through the use of the nationwide CEEB database. By enabling the assignment of fuel types and heating systems at the building level, this approach reduces uncertainty, increases spatial resolution, and enhances the reliability of input data for air quality models. The results were applied in the GEM-AQ model and validated against measurement data, showing significant improvements compared to traditional methods. Her presentation was very well received and made an important contribution to the discussion on the quality and practical use of emission data in dispersion models.
The participation of IOŚ-PIB experts in HARMO23 was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences with an international community of researchers working on air quality, as well as to present Polish achievements in emission inventory and atmospheric modelling.