A New Study on Air Quality Standards: Air Quality Measurement and Evaluation for Jiangsu Province Based on Six Major Air Pollutants

Abstract

China’s current Air Quality Index (AQI) system only considers one air pollutant which has the highest concentration value. In order to comprehensively evaluate the urban air quality of Jiangsu Province, this paper has studied the air quality of 13 cities in that province from April 2015 to March 2018 based on an expanded AQI system that includes six major air pollutants. After expanding the existing air quality evaluation standards of China, this paper has calculated the air quality evaluation scores of cities in Jiangsu Province based on the six major air pollutants by using the improved Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model. This paper has further analyzed the effectiveness of air pollution control policies in Jiangsu Province and its different cities during the study period. The findings are as follows: there are distinct differences in air quality for different cities in Jiangsu Province; except for coastal cities such as Nantong, Yancheng and Lianyungang, the southern cities of Jiangsu generally have better air quality than the northern cities. The causes of these differences include not only natural factors such as geographical location and wind direction, but also economic factors and energy structure. In addition, air pollution control policies have achieved significant results in Nantong, Changzhou, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Yancheng, Zhenjiang, Tai’an and Lianyungang. Among them, Nantong has seen the biggest improvement, 20.28%; Changzhou and Wuxi have improved their air quality by more than 10%, while Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Yancheng have improved their air quality by more than 5%. However, the air quality of Nanjing, Huai’an, Xuzhou, and Suqian has worsened by different degrees compared that of the last period within the beginning period, during which Suqian’s air quality has declined by 20.07% and Xuzhou’s by 16.32%.