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. 2015 Oct 15:5:14884.
doi: 10.1038/srep14884.

Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in China at a city level

Yan-Lin Zhang  1 , Fang Cao  1
Affiliations

Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in China at a city level

Yan-Lin Zhang et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

This study presents one of the first long term datasets including a statistical summary of PM2.5 concentrations obtained from one-year monitoring in 190 cities in China. We found only 25 out of 190 cities could meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards of China, and the population-weighted mean of PM2.5 in Chinese cities are 61 μg/m(3), ~3 times as high as global population-weighted mean, highlighting a high health risk. PM2.5 concentrations are generally higher in north than in south regions due to relative large PM emissions and unfavorable meteorological conditions for pollution dispersion. A remarkable seasonal variability of PM2.5 is observed with the highest during the winter and the lowest during the summer. Due to the enhanced contributions from dust particles and open biomass burning, high PM2.5 abundances are also found in the spring (in Northwest and West Central China) and autumn (in East China), respectively. In addition, we found the lowest and highest PM2.5 often occurs in the afternoon and evening hours, respectively, associated with daily variation of the boundary layer depth and anthropogenic emissions. The diurnal distribution of the PM2.5-to-CO ratio consistently displays a pronounced peak during the afternoon periods, reflecting a significant contribution of secondary PM formation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The averaged PM2.5 concentrations (μg/m3) of the 190 cities of China, during the year of 2014/2015 (a) and during the spring (b), summer (c), autumn (d), and winter (e).
The maps were drawn by the software of Igor Pro, http://www.wavemetrics.com/.
Figure 2
Figure 2. The averaged PM2.5/PM10 ratio of the 190 cities of China, during the year of 2014/2015 (a) and during the spring (b), summer (c), autumn (d), and winter (e).
The maps were drawn by the software of Igor Pro, http://www.wavemetrics.com/.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Diurnal variations of hourly PM2.5 concentrations in Beijing (a), Shanghai (b) and Guangzhou (c).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Daily evolution of average planetary boundary layer height in Beijing (a), Shanghai (b) and Guangzhou (c).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Diurnal variations of hourly NO2 concentrations in Beijing (a), Shanghai (b) and Guangzhou (c).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Diurnal variations of hourly SO2 concentrations in Beijing (a), Shanghai (b) and Guangzhou (c).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Diurnal variations of hourly PM2.5 to CO ratios (PM2.5/CO) concentrations in Beijing (a), Shanghai (b) and Guangzhou (c).
Figure 8
Figure 8. Cumulative distribution of annual mean PM2.5 estimated from ground measurements in 190 Chinese cities.
The results from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and Pearl River Delta (PRD) regions are also displayed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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