Abstract
Frequent hazy weather has been one of the most obvious air problems accompanying China’s rapid urbanization. As one of the main components of haze pollution, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which severely affects environmental quality and people’s health, has attracted wide attention. This study investigated the PM2.5 distribution, changing trends and impact of urban factors based on remote-sensing PM2.5 concentration data from 2000 to 2015, combining land-use data and socioeconomic data, and using the least-squares method and structural equation model (SEM). The results showed that the high concentration of PM2.5 in China was mainly concentrated in the eastern part of China and Sichuan Province. The trends of the PM2.5 concentration in eastern part and Northeast China, Sichuan, and Guangxi Provinces were positive. Meanwhile, the ratios of increasing trends were strongest in built-up land and agricultural land, and the decreasing trends were strongest in forest and grassland, but the overall trends were still growing. The SEM results indicated that economic factors contributed most to PM2.5 pollution, followed by demographic factors and spatial factors. Among all observed variables, the secondary industrial GDP had the highest impact on PM2.5 pollution. Based on the above results, PM2.5 pollution remains an important environmental issue in China at present and even in the future. It is necessary for decision-makers to make actions and policies from macroscopic and microscopic, long-term and short-term aspects to reduce pollution.
Highlights
China is fast becoming an example of an inevitable trend towards increasing urbanization, the level of which increased from 26.41% in 1990 to 49.95% in 2010 and is projected to exceed 60% by2020 [1]
To address the uncertainty of abnormal values related to PM2.5 remote sensing inversion, previous studies often adopt an average taken across many years
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Summary
China is fast becoming an example of an inevitable trend towards increasing urbanization, the level of which increased from 26.41% in 1990 to 49.95% in 2010 and is projected to exceed 60% by2020 [1]. One feature of urbanization is the rapid development of industrialization, and industrial activities emit many kinds of pollutants. Another feature of urbanization is the flow of the population from the countries to cities. Anthropogenic activities, such as the use of motor vehicles and coal fires, contribute to air pollution. Air pollution is a major environmental health problem affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike. It was estimated in 2012 to cause three million premature deaths per year in urban and rural areas worldwide; the mortality is because of exposure to small particulate matter with
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