Contrasting Trends of Surface PM 2.5, O 3, and NO 2 and Their Relationships with Meteorological Parameters in Typical Coastal and Inland Cities in the Yangtze River Delta

Min Lv, Zhanqing Li, Qingfeng Jiang, Tianmeng Chen, Yuying Wang, Anyong Hu, Maureen Cribb and Aling Cai
Additional contact information
Min Lv: School of Geographic Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, China
Zhanqing Li: Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Qingfeng Jiang: School of Geographic Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, China
Tianmeng Chen: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yuying Wang: Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, School of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Anyong Hu: School of Geographic Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226007, China
Maureen Cribb: Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Aling Cai: Meteorological Forecast Center, Zhangpu Meteorological Bureau, Zhangzhou 363000, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: The contrasting trends of surface particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), ozone (O 3 ), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and their relationships with meteorological parameters from 2015 to 2019 were investigated in the coastal city of Shanghai (SH) and the inland city of Hefei (HF), located in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). In both cities, PM 2.5 declined substantially, while O 3 and NO 2 showed peak values during 2017 when the most frequent extreme high-temperature events occurred. Wind speed was correlated most negatively with PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations, while surface temperature and relative humidity were most closely related to O 3 . All of the studied pollutants were reduced by rainfall scavenging, with the greatest reduction seen in PM 2.5 , followed by NO 2 and O 3 . By contrast, air pollutants in the two cities were moderately strongly correlated, although PM 2.5 concentrations were much lower and O x (O 3 + NO 2 ) concentrations were higher in SH. Additionally, complex air pollution hours occurred more frequently in SH. Air pollutant concentrations changed more with wind direction in SH. A more effective washout effect was observed in HF, likely due to the more frequent strong convection and thunderstorms in inland areas. This research suggests pertinent air quality control measures should be designed accordingly for specific geographical locations.

Keywords: PM 2.5; O 3; NO 2; meteorological parameters; geographical locations; Yangtze River Delta (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12471/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12471/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12471-:d:688945

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().