Monitoring of particulate matter concentrations at high altitude ecosystems of Pakistan and China

© 2015, Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum. All rights reserved. Particulate matter exhibits different behavior with altitude. A comparative analysis was carried out to monitor PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 4 , PM 10 and PMTotal at elevations above 3000 m in both China and Pakistan. Real time monitoring of PM was carried out at both sites using a DustTrak DRX (model 8533, TSI Inc.) for 24 hours each. In Pakistan, the average value of PM Total was 415 ± 16 μg/m 3 while in China the value was considerably lower i.e. 110 ± 57 μg/m 3 . The 24-hour mean values recorded were well above the WHO recommended limit of 25 μg/m 3 . These results indicate that, even at sites some distance from anthropogenic sources, PM concentrations still pose a health risk.