Investigation and zoning of atmospheric hazards in Kermanshah province in the west of Iran

The main purpose of this article was to zone atmospheric hazards in Kermanshah province. For this purpose, data were used from the meteorological organization of the province on a daily and monthly scale for a period of 30 years (1987-2016). Thirteen important atmospheric hazards were surveyed within the province. In general, the phenomena studied in the form of two main methods and the occurrence frequency maps were prepared for each of the hazards using the Geographic Information System (GIS) separately. Then, by considering the degree of similarities and differences, the 13 mentioned atmospheric hazards were classified into three main categories as: temperature, visibility and precipitation hazards, and a spatial zoning map were prepared for each category. Finally, by combining the results of all data, a comprehensive map of atmospheric hazards was prepared in the study area. The results of investigation showed the center and southern parts of Kermanshah province with the riskiest areas, while the western parts were with the lowest hazards due to the frequency of occurrences. The spatial pattern for the occurrence of the hazards indicates an increasing trend of visibility hazards from the south and the center to the west and to the east of the province. While for precipitation and temperature hazards, the occurrence of hazards decreased from the south to the west and to the east of province.