Seasonal Characteristics of Atmospheric PM2.5 in an Urban Area of Vietnam and the Influence of Regional Fire Activities

Abstract

This study investigated the seasonal variation and chemical characteristics of atmospheric PM2.5 at an urban site in Hanoi City of Vietnam in summer (July 2020) and winter (January 2021) periods. The study results showed that the average value of daily PM2.5 concentrations observed for the winter period was about 3 times higher than the counterpart for the summer period. The concentrations of major species in atmospheric PM2.5 (SO42−, NH4+, K+, OC and EC) measured during the winter period were also significantly higher than those during the summer period. The contribution of secondary sources to the measured OC (the largest contributor to PM2.5) was larger than that of primary sources during the winter period, compared to those in the summer period. The correlation analysis among anions and cations in PM2.5 suggested that different sources and atmospheric processes could influence the seasonal variations of PM2.5 species. The unfavorable meteorological conditions (lower wind speed and lower boundary layer height) in the winter period were identified as one of the key factors contributing to the high PM2.5 pollution in this period. With the predominance of north and northeast winds during the winter period, the long-range transport of air pollutants which emitted from the highly industrialized areas and the intensive fire regions in the southern part of China and Southeast Asia region were likely other important sources for the highly elevated concentrations of PM2.5 and its chemical species in the study area.