Simulating air pollution at the province level: A case of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, Vietnam

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to simulate air pollution in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province (BR-VT), a significant transportation hub in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The FVM-TAPOM model system was employed to create a spatial distribution map of air pollution concentration including PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO. The model had sufficient capability for simulating air pollutant distribution (R2>0.6). For PM2.5, the average simulated 1-hour PM2.5 concentration is highest during the dry and rainy seasons, reaching 68 μg/m3 and 46 μg/m3, respectively. For PM10, the average 1-hour simulated PM10 dust concentration is highest during the dry and rainy seasons, reaching 90 μg/m3 and 62 μg/m3, respectively. For NO2, the average 1-hour simulated NO2 concentration is highest during the dry and rainy seasons, reaching 56 (μg/m3) and 46 μg/m3, respectively, which is lower than the permissible threshold of QCVN 05:2023/BTNMT (1-hour average 200 μg/m3). For SO2, the average 1-hour simulated SO2 concentration is highest during the dry and rainy seasons, reaching 140 μg/m3 and 88 μg/m3, respectively, which is lower than the permissible threshold of QCVN 05:2023/BTNMT (1-hour average 350 μg/m3). For CO, the average 1-hour simulated CO concentration is highest during the dry and rainy seasons, reaching 2.950 μg/m3 and 2.280 μg/m3, respectively, which is lower than the permissible threshold of QCVN 05:2023/BTNMT (1-hour average 30.000 μg/m3).