Characteristics and origins of air pollutants in Wuhan, China, based on observations and hybrid receptor models.

ABSTRACTTo identify the characteristics of air pollutants and factors attributing to the formation of haze in Wuhan, this study analyzed the hourly observations of air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, and CO) from March 1, 2013, to February 28, 2014, and used hybrid receptor models for a case study. The results showed that the annual average concentrations for PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, and CO during the whole period were 89.6 μg m−3, 134.9 μg m−3, 54.9 μg m−3, 32.4 μg m−3, 62.3 μg m−3, and 1.1 mg m−3, respectively. The monthly variations revealed that the peak values of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO occurred in December because of increased local emissions and severe weather conditions, while the lowest values occurred in July mainly due to larger precipitation. The maximum O3 concentrations occurred in warm seasons from May to August, which may be partly due to the high temperature and solar radiation. Diurnal analysis showed that hourly PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and CO concentrations had two ascending st...