Comparison of Hourly PM 2.5 Observations Between Urban and Suburban Areas in Beijing, China

Ling Yao, Ning Lu, Xiafang Yue, Jia Du and Cundong Yang
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Ling Yao: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101, China
Ning Lu: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101, China
Xiafang Yue: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101, China
Jia Du: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101, China
Cundong Yang: College of History and Tourism Culture, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Hourly PM 2.5 observations collected at 12 stations over a 1-year period are used to identify variations between urban and suburban areas in Beijing. The data demonstrates a unique monthly variation form, as compared with other major cities. Urban areas suffer higher PM 2.5 concentration (about 92 ?g/m 3 ) than suburban areas (about 77 ?g/m 3 ), and the average PM 2.5 concentration in cold season (about 105 ?g/m 3 ) is higher than warm season (about 78 ?g/m 3 ). Hourly PM 2.5 observations exhibit distinct seasonal, diurnal and day-of-week variations. The diurnal variation of PM 2.5 is observed with higher concentration at night and lower value at daytime, and the cumulative growth of nighttime (22:00 p.m. in winter) PM 2.5 concentration maybe due to the atmospheric stability. Moreover, annual average PM 2.5 concentrations are about 18 ?g/m 3 higher on weekends than weekdays, consistent with driving restrictions on weekdays. Additionally, the nighttime peak in weekdays (21:00 p.m.) is one hour later than weekends (20:00 p.m.) which also shows the evidence of human activity. These observed facts indicate that the variations of PM 2.5 concentration between urban and suburban areas in Beijing are influenced by complex meteorological factors and human activities.

Keywords: PM 2.5 concentration; diurnal variations; spatial variations; day-of-week pattern; air quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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