Effects of Meteorological Factors and Anthropogenic Precursors on PM 2.5 Concentrations in Cities in China

Ziyun Jing, Pengfei Liu, Tuanhui Wang, Hongquan Song, Jay Lee, Tao Xu and Yu Xing
Additional contact information
Ziyun Jing: Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation Center on Yellow River Civilization of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
Pengfei Liu: Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation Center on Yellow River Civilization of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
Tuanhui Wang: Institute of Urban Big Data, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
Hongquan Song: Institute of Urban Big Data, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
Jay Lee: College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
Tao Xu: School of Computer and Information Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China
Yu Xing: Henan Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) in size can significantly affect human health, atmospheric visibility, climate, and ecosystems. PM 2.5 has become the major air pollutant in most cities of China. However, influencing factors and their interactive effects on PM 2.5 concentrations remain unclear. This study used a geographic detector method to quantify the effects of anthropogenic precursors (AP) and meteorological factors on PM 2.5 concentrations in cities of China. Results showed that impacts of meteorological conditions and AP on PM 2.5 have significant spatio-temporal disparities. Temperature was the main influencing factor throughout the whole year, which can explain 27% of PM 2.5 concentrations. Precipitation and temperature were primary impacting factors in southern and northern China, respectively, at the annual time scale. In winter, AP had stronger impacts on PM 2.5 in northern China than in other seasons. Ammonia had stronger impacts on PM 2.5 than other anthropogenic precursors in winter. The interaction between all factors enhanced the formation of PM 2.5 concentrations. The interaction between ammonia and temperature had strongest impacts at the national scale, explaining 46% ( q = 0.46) of PM 2.5 concentrations. The findings comprehensively elucidated the relative importance of driving factors in PM 2.5 formation, which can provide basic foundations for understanding the meteorological and anthropogenic influences on the concentration patterns of PM 2.5 .

Keywords: PM 2.5; particulate matter; interactions; GeoDetector; air quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/9/3550/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/9/3550/ (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:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3550-:d:350869

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

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