National air pollution distribution in China and related geographic, meteorological, and economic factors

Abstract: Regional specification of PM 2.5 pollution characteristics is crucial for pollution control and policymaking. Spatiotemporal variations of six criteria air pollutants and influencing factors in China were studied using hourly concentrations of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, and O 3 from 2015 to 2016. China was categorized into eight regions: north-east, northern coastland, eastern coastland, southern coastland, Yellow River middle reaches, Yangtze River middle reaches, south-west, and north-west. The 29 exemplary cities in China were also researched. It was found that the PM 2.5 concentration in the northern coastland (Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei–Shandong) was the highest (72.28 μg m −3 ) among the eight regions, particularly in the city of Baoding, Hebei, which had an annual average PM 2.5 concentration of 98.53 μg m −3 . Average PM 2.5 concentrations in 2015 and 2016 of China were 50.16 and 46.61 μg m −3 , respectively. Compared with 2015, the PM 2.5 concentration decreased by 8.41% in 2016, the decline of PM 2.5 in summer was the largest, followed by autumn, spring and winter. The average mean PM 2.5 concentrations of the 29 exemplary cities in 2015 and 2016 were 54.66 and 48.37 μg m −3 , respectively, exceeding the limit for grade 2 of the national standards (35 μg m −3 ). National air pollution distribution has exploded geographically with influence of regional economic factors. Precursor emissions as well as geographical and economic conditions influenced PM 2.5 emissions. Effects of these factors on PM 2.5 emissions varied across regions and decreased continuously from the northern region to the south-west and eastern coastland regions. This paper clearly identifies the regional characteristics and distribution of PM 2.5 , focusing on the effects of geography and local economic development. Secondary transformation and vehicle exhaust across regions should be further studied.