Comparison of ozone levels between working days and weekends in Athens, Greece.

Athens has a major problem of ozone air pollution due to its climate which is dominated by hot and dry summers with intense sunshine. As a result there is a high violation of the air quality limits of ozone. By comparing ozone air pollution between weekdays and weekends it is possible to estimate the effect of the reduction of primary pollutants causing the formation of ozone on the levels of this pollutant. Thus it was estimated that while during the weekends the concentrations of the ozone precursors (nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds) were reduced by the order of 10-20%, the effect on ozone levels was lower.