Evaluation of ambient air quality in Guangzhou, China.
On the basis of the reported air quality index (API) and air pollutant monitoring data provided by the Guangzhou Environment Monitoring Stations over the last twenty-five years, the characteristics of air quality, prominent pollutants, and variation of the average annual concentrations of SO2, NO2, total suspended particulate (TSP), fine particulates (PM10), CO and dustfall in Guangzhou City were analyzed. Results showed that TSP was the prominent pollutant in the ambient air environment of Guangzhou City. Of the prominent pollutants, TSP accounted for nearly 62%, SO2 12.3%, and NOx 6.4%, respectively. The average API of Guangzhou over 6 years was higher than that of Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai, and lower than that of Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou. Concentrations of air pollutants have shown a downward trend in recent years, but they are generally worse than ambient air quality standards for USA, Hong Kong and EU. SO2 and NOx pollution were still serious, impling that waste gas pollution from all kinds of vehicles had become a significant problem for environmental protection in Guangzhou. The possible causes of worsening air quality were also discussed in this paper.
Zhou
Kai
K
South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China. k-zhou@tom.com
Ye
You-hua
YH
Liu
Qiang
Q
Liu
Ai-jun
AJ
Peng
Shao-lin
SL
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides / Q000032:analysis*; D010126:Ozone / Q000032:analysis; D010316:Particle Size; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D052638:Particulate Matter; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; D010126:Ozone; D002248:Carbon Monoxide