Air Pollutants in Metropolises of Eastern Coastal China

Mao Mao, Liuxintian Rao, Huan Jiang, Siqi He and Xiaolin Zhang ()
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Mao Mao: School of Atmosphere and Remote Sensing, Wuxi University, Wuxi 214105, China
Liuxintian Rao: School of Atmosphere and Remote Sensing, Wuxi University, Wuxi 214105, China
Huan Jiang: Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, School of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
Siqi He: School of Atmosphere and Remote Sensing, Wuxi University, Wuxi 214105, China
Xiaolin Zhang: School of Atmosphere and Remote Sensing, Wuxi University, Wuxi 214105, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: Recently released hourly particular matter (PM:PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) and gaseous pollutants (SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, and O 3 ) data observed in Qingdao, Hangzhou, and Xiamen from 2015 to 2019 were utilized to reveal the current situation of air pollution over eastern coastal China. The PM pollution situation over the three metropolises ameliorated during studied period with the concentrations decreasing about 20–30%. Gas pollutants, excepting SO 2 , generally exhibit no evident reduction tendencies, and a more rigorous control standard on gaseous pollutants is neededEven for the year 2018 with low pollution levels among the study period, these levels (<10% of PM 2.5 , <6% of PM 10 , and <15% of O 3 ) surpass the Grade II of the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) over these metropolises of eastern coast China. No matter in which year, both SO 2 and CO concentrations are always below the Grade-II standards. According to the comparative analysis of PM 2.5 /PM 10 and PM 2.5 /CO during episode days and non-episode days, the formation of secondary aerosols associated with stagnant weather systems play an important role in the pollutant accumulation as haze episodes occurred. The stronger seasonal variations and higher magnitude occur in Qingdao and Hangzhou, while weaker seasonal variations and lower magnitudes occur in Xiamen. In Qingdao and Hangzhou, PM, NO 2 , SO 2 , and CO show relatively high levels in the cold wintertime and low levels in summer, whereas O 3 shows a completely opposite pattern. Xiamen exhibits high levels of all air pollutants except O 3 in spring due to its subtropical marine monsoon climate with mild winters. According to the back trajectory hierarchical clustering and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis, the regional transmission from adjacent cities has a significant impact on the atmospheric pollutant concentrations under the control of the prejudiced winds. Thus, besides local emission reduction, strengthening regional environmental cooperation and implementing joint prevention are effective measures to mitigate air pollution in the eastern coastal areas of China.

Keywords: particulate matter; air pollutants; eastern coastal China; metropolises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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