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Long-term PM 2.5 pollution over China: Identification of PM 2.5 pollution hotspots and source contributions.

Authors :
Ali MA
Huang Z
Bilal M
Assiri ME
Mhawish A
Nichol JE
de Leeuw G
Almazroui M
Wang Y
Alsubhi Y
Source :
The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2023 Oct 01; Vol. 893, pp. 164871. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jun 16.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Fine particulate matter, with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> ), is a severe problem in China. The lack of ground-based measurements and its sparse distribution obstruct long-term air pollution impact studies over China. Therefore, the present study used newly updated Global Estimates (V5. GL.02) of monthly PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> data from 2001 to 2020 based on Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) by Washington University. The GWR PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> data were validated against ground-based measurements from 2014 to 2020, and the validation results demonstrated a good agreement between GWR and ground-based PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> with a higher correlation (r = 0.95), lower error (8.14), and lower bias (-3.10 %). The long-term (2001-2020) PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> data were used to identify pollution hotspots and sources across China using the potential source contribution function (PSCF). The results showed highly significant PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> pollution hotspots in central (Henan, Hubei), North China Plain (NCP), northwest (Taklimakan), and Sichuan Basin (Chongqing, Sichuan) in China, with the most severe pollution occurring in winter compared to other seasons. During the winter, PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> was in the range from 6.08 to 93.05 μg/m <superscript>3</superscript> in 33 provinces, which is 1.22 to 18.61 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines (AQG-2021; annual mean: 5 μg/m <superscript>3</superscript> ). In 26 provinces, the reported PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> was 1.07 to 2.66 times higher than the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard (AAQS; annual mean: 35 μg/m <superscript>3</superscript> ). Furthermore, provincial-level trend analysis shows that in most Chinese provinces, PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> increased significantly (3-43 %) from 2001 to 2012, whereas it decreased by 12-94 % from 2013 to 2020 due to the implementation of air pollution control policies. Finally, the PSCF analysis demonstrates that China's air quality is mainly affected by local PM <subscript>2.5</subscript> sources rather than by pollutants imported from outside China.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.<br /> (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1879-1026
Volume :
893
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
The Science of the total environment
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
37331383
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164871