The Impact of Meteorological Factors on PM2.5 Variations in Hong Kong

Abstract

Abstract. This paper aims to explore the impact of meteorological factors on PM2.5 concentrations in Hong Kong. The PM2.5 and meteorology data including temperature, pressure, rainfall, relative humidity (RH), wind speed and wind direction from January to December of 2013 were collected. The correlation analysis between PM2.5 and meteorological factors were conducted for each month and season. The meteorology data were classified into several intervals and the mean PM2.5 concentrations for each interval were calculated to see the tendency. According to the correlation analysis results, the PM2.5 concentrations have a positive relationship with pressure with correlation coefficients 0.507 while have negative relationships with temperature, RH, rainfall, wind speed with correlation coefficients -0.512, -0.237, -0.524, -0.284, respectively. In addition, the wind direction influence PM2.5 concentrations through affecting the spreading direction of PM2.5. The north wind in winter increased the PM2.5 in Hong Kong while the south wind in summer decrease the PM2.5. Therefore, the meteorological factors affect the aggregation, diffusion, spread of PM2.5. They have a leading impact on PM2.5 concentrations when the domestic emission stays stable. IntroductionThe rapid development of urban construction and accelerated urbanization have caused serious pressure on atmosphere environment. As one result of the process, air pollution has increased concerns about people's health, especially for the fine particular matter (PM2.5). PM2.5 is the particular matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm, which not only attenuates atmospheric visibility, but also has an adverse impact on human health [1]. Some epidemiology studies reveal that a certain relationship exists between particular matter of pollution and the mortality rate, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases [2], [3]. The PM2.5 concentrations were mainly influenced by local pollution emission, external pollution propagation and meteorological conditions including pressure, temperature, humidity, cloud coverage, precipitation and wind, etc. The meteorological factors cause spatio-temporal variation of particulate matter concentrations through influencing the conglomeration and diffusion of pollutants. Tai [4] indicate that the daily variation of meteorological parameters can cause up to 50% of the change of PM2.5 concentrations. Wang and Ogawa [5] investigated the correlation between PM2.5 and meteorological conditions in Nagasaki, Japan. The results shown that temperature had a negative, and precipitation had a positive, correlation with PM2.5. Elminir [6] found that temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction contribute to the air pollutants concentration. Wind direction was found to have influence on both pollutant concentrations and the correlation between pollutants. Hong Kong is located in southern China with sea on three sides and is one of the most densely populated areas. In the last decades, the economic cooperation between Hong Kong and Pearl R...

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