Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong
In urban areas, fine particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) associated with local vehicle emissions can cause respiratory and cardiorespiratory disease and increased mortality rates, but less so in rural areas. However, Hong Kong may be a special case, since the whole territory often suff...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/9/496 |
| _version_ | 1828399498466951168 |
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| author | Muhammad Bilal Janet E. Nichol Majid Nazeer Yuan Shi Lunche Wang K. Raghavendra Kumar Hung Chak Ho Usman Mazhar Max P. Bleiweiss Zhongfeng Qiu Khaled Mohamed Khedher Simone Lolli |
| author_facet | Muhammad Bilal Janet E. Nichol Majid Nazeer Yuan Shi Lunche Wang K. Raghavendra Kumar Hung Chak Ho Usman Mazhar Max P. Bleiweiss Zhongfeng Qiu Khaled Mohamed Khedher Simone Lolli |
| author_sort | Muhammad Bilal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In urban areas, fine particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) associated with local vehicle emissions can cause respiratory and cardiorespiratory disease and increased mortality rates, but less so in rural areas. However, Hong Kong may be a special case, since the whole territory often suffers from regional haze from nearby mainland China, as well as local sources. Therefore, to understand which areas of Hong Kong may be affected by damaging levels of fine particulates, PM<sub>2.5</sub> data were obtained from March 2005 to February 2009 for urban, suburban, and rural air quality monitoring stations; namely Central (city area, commercial area, and urban populated area), Tsuen Wan (city area, commercial area, urban populated, and residential area), Tung Chung (suburban and residential area), Yuen Long (urban and residential area), and Tap Mun (remote rural area). To evaluate the relative contributions of regional and local pollution sources, the study aimed to test the influence of weather conditions on PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations. Thus, meteorological parameters including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind directions were obtained from the Hong Kong Observatory. The results showed that Hong Kong’s air quality is mainly affected by regional aerosol emissions, either transported from the land or ocean, as similar patterns of variations in PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations were observed over urban, suburban, and rural areas of Hong Kong. Only slightly higher PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations were observed over urban sites, such as Central, compared to suburban and rural sites, which could be attributed to local automobile emissions. Results showed that meteorological parameters have the potential to explain 80% of the variability in daily mean PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations—at Yuen Long, 77% at Tung Chung, 72% at Central, 71% at Tsuen Wan, and 67% at Tap Mun, during the spring to summer part of the year. The results provide not only a better understanding of the impact of regional long-distance transport of air pollutants on Hong Kong’s air quality but also a reference for future regional-scale collaboration on air quality management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:18:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa5375f83429462ab6873a179b1f28f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:18:09Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa5375f83429462ab6873a179b1f28f32022-12-22T01:54:47ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332019-08-0110949610.3390/atmos10090496atmos10090496Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong KongMuhammad Bilal0Janet E. Nichol1Majid Nazeer2Yuan Shi3Lunche Wang4K. Raghavendra Kumar5Hung Chak Ho6Usman Mazhar7Max P. Bleiweiss8Zhongfeng Qiu9Khaled Mohamed Khedher10Simone Lolli11School of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaDepartment of Geography, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton BN19RH, UKKey Laboratory of Digital Land and Resources, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, ChinaSchool of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, ChinaLaboratory of Critical Zone Evolution, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaDepartment of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing & Geomatics Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaDepartment of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science, New Mexico State University (NMSU), Las Cruces, NM 88003, USASchool of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi ArabiaInstitute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, National Research Council (CNR), 85050 Tito Scalo (PZ), ItalyIn urban areas, fine particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) associated with local vehicle emissions can cause respiratory and cardiorespiratory disease and increased mortality rates, but less so in rural areas. However, Hong Kong may be a special case, since the whole territory often suffers from regional haze from nearby mainland China, as well as local sources. Therefore, to understand which areas of Hong Kong may be affected by damaging levels of fine particulates, PM<sub>2.5</sub> data were obtained from March 2005 to February 2009 for urban, suburban, and rural air quality monitoring stations; namely Central (city area, commercial area, and urban populated area), Tsuen Wan (city area, commercial area, urban populated, and residential area), Tung Chung (suburban and residential area), Yuen Long (urban and residential area), and Tap Mun (remote rural area). To evaluate the relative contributions of regional and local pollution sources, the study aimed to test the influence of weather conditions on PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations. Thus, meteorological parameters including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind directions were obtained from the Hong Kong Observatory. The results showed that Hong Kong’s air quality is mainly affected by regional aerosol emissions, either transported from the land or ocean, as similar patterns of variations in PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations were observed over urban, suburban, and rural areas of Hong Kong. Only slightly higher PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations were observed over urban sites, such as Central, compared to suburban and rural sites, which could be attributed to local automobile emissions. Results showed that meteorological parameters have the potential to explain 80% of the variability in daily mean PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations—at Yuen Long, 77% at Tung Chung, 72% at Central, 71% at Tsuen Wan, and 67% at Tap Mun, during the spring to summer part of the year. The results provide not only a better understanding of the impact of regional long-distance transport of air pollutants on Hong Kong’s air quality but also a reference for future regional-scale collaboration on air quality management.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/9/496PM<sub>2.5</sub>meteorological variablestemporal evolutionurban and rural areasHong Kong |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Bilal Janet E. Nichol Majid Nazeer Yuan Shi Lunche Wang K. Raghavendra Kumar Hung Chak Ho Usman Mazhar Max P. Bleiweiss Zhongfeng Qiu Khaled Mohamed Khedher Simone Lolli Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong Atmosphere PM<sub>2.5</sub> meteorological variables temporal evolution urban and rural areas Hong Kong |
| title | Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong |
| title_full | Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong |
| title_fullStr | Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong |
| title_short | Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong |
| title_sort | characteristics of fine particulate matter pm sub 2 5 sub over urban suburban and rural areas of hong kong |
| topic | PM<sub>2.5</sub> meteorological variables temporal evolution urban and rural areas Hong Kong |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/9/496 |
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