Variation Trends of Fine Particulate Matter Concentration in Wuhan City from 2013 to 2017

Abstract

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is directly associated with smog and has become the primary factor that threatens air quality in China. In order to investigate the variation patterns of PM2.5 concentrations in various regions of Wuhan city across different time spans, we analyzed continuous monitoring data from six monitoring sites in Wuhan city from 2013 to 2017. The results showed that the PM2.5 concentration from the various monitoring sites in the five-year period showed a decreasing trend. January, October, and December are the three months with relatively high mean monthly PM2.5 concentrations in the year, while June, July, and August are the three months with relatively low mean monthly PM2.5 concentrations in the year. The number of days with a daily mean concentration of 35–75 μg/m3 was the highest, while the number of days with a daily mean concentration of more than 250 μg/m3 was the lowest. PM2.5 accounted for a large proportion of the major pollutants and is the main source of air pollution in Wuhan city, with an average proportion of over 46%.