Spatial and temporal characteristics of air quality and air pollutants in 2013 in Beijing

Air pollution has become an ever more critical issue in Beijing in more recent years. In this study, we use the air quality index (AQI), corresponding primary pollutant types and meteorological data which are collected at 16 monitoring stations in Beijing between January 2013 and December, 2013 studying the spatial and temporal variations of air quality and air pollutants. The results show that PM2.5 was the most serious pollutant, followed by O3. The average PM2.5 mass concentration was 119.5 ± 13.8 μg m−3 in Beijing. In addition, the air quality varies across different seasons. More specifically, winter season showed the worst air quality. Moreover, while particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations were relatively higher in the spring and winter seasons, gaseous pollutants (O3 and NO2) were more serious in the summer and autumn. In terms of spatial heterogeneity, the findings showed that AQI and PM2.5 concentrations were higher in south and lower in the north of the city, and the O3 showed exactly a pattern with the opposite direction—higher in the north and lower in the south. NO2 was found to have a greater impact on the central region compared with that in other regions. Furthermore, PM2.5 was found to be positively correlated with the relative humidity, but negatively correlated with wind speed and atmospheric pressure (P < 0.01). However, the dominant meteorological factors that influence the PM2.5 concentrations varied in different seasons. The results in this paper provide additional information for the effective control of the air pollution in Beijing.