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

Abstract

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 stages accompanying by the two traffic peaks. However, the O3 concentration variations were different with the highest concentration in the afternoon. A case study utilizing hybrid receptor models showed the significant impact of regional transport on the haze formation in Wuhan and revealed that the mainly potential polluted sources were located in the north and south of Wuhan, such as Baoding and Handan in Hebei province, and Changsha in Hunan province. Implications: Wuhan city requires a 5% reduction of the annual mean of PM2.5 concentration by the end of 2017. In order to accomplish this goal, Wuhan has adopted some measures to improve its air quality. This work has determined the main pollution sources that affect the formation of haze in Wuhan by transport. We showed that apart from the local emissions, north and south of Wuhan were the potential sources contributing to the high PM2.5 concentrations in Wuhan, such as Baoding and Handan in Hebei province, Zhumadian and Jiaozuo in Henan province, and Changsha and Zhuzhou in Hunan province.