Particulate matter (PM) pollution in China has an obvious characteristic of spatial distribution. It is well known that intensive anthropogenic activities, such as fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, have great influence on the spatial distribution of PM pollution. However, the spacescale-dependent relationships between PM concentrations and weather conditions remain unclear. Here, we investigated the characteristics of two types of particulate pollution, including PM 2.5 and PM 10 , and their spatial relationships with meteorological elements in 173 cities throughout China from March 2014 to February 2015. Results: (1) High PM 2.5 concentrations were distinctly located southeast of the Hu Line, and high PM 10 concentrations were distinctly situated north of the Yangtze River; (2) Spacescale-dependent relationships were found between PM pollution and meteorological elements. The influence of temperature had similar inverted V-shaped characteristics, namely, there was serious PM pollution when temperature was about 15 • C, and there was slight PM pollution when temperature was less or more than 15 • C. Annual precipitation, wind speed, and relative humidity were negatively correlated with PM, while annual atmospheric pressure was positively correlated with PM; (3) The ideal meteorological regions were identified according to the quantified spatial relationships between PM and meteorological elements, which could be defined by a combination of the following conditions: (a) temperature <10 • C or >21 • C; (b) precipitation >1500 mm; (c) atmospheric pressure <900 hPa; (d) wind speed >3 m/s; and (e) relative humidity >65%, where air pollutants can easily be scavenged. The success of this research provides a meteorological explanation to the spatial distribution characteristics of PM pollution in China.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.