The relationships between surface-column aerosol concentrations and meteorological factors observed at major cities in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Monitoring of particulate matter (PM) is important in air quality, public health, and epidemiological studies and in decision-making for policy implementation. In the present study, the temporal variability of surface-measured PM concentrations ([PM]) and their relationship with meteorological variables and aerosol optical depth (AOD), with the aid from source apportionment studies, are investigated at four urban cities in the Chinese Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region during January 2014 to December 2017. The annual mean concentrations of [PM₂.₅] ([PM₁₀]) observed at Shanghai (SH), Nanjing (NJ), Hangzhou (HZ), and Hefei (HF) were 46.98 ± 12.21, 54.84 ± 46.14, 52.82 ± 16.98, and 64.03 ± 20.57 μg m⁻³ (68.07 ± 14.33, 96.48 ± 26.86, 83.08 ± 22.38, and 97.61 ± 20.19 μg m⁻³), respectively. However, the [PM] exceeded the Chinese National Air Quality Standards of GB3095-2012, being higher (lower) during winter (summer). The [PM] was found higher in the morning (08:00–10:00 LT) and evening (18:00–20:00 LT) and lower in early morning (04:00 LT) and afternoon (14:00 LT) attributed to the dynamics of boundary layer height and varied emission sources. With an annual mean of 0.6–0.7, the PM ratio (PMr = PM₂.₅/PM₁₀) was observed to have a single peak distribution in all seasons indicating the dominance of fine particles (PM₂.₅). Further, the [PM₁₀] and [PM₂.₅] were highly correlated (r ≥ 0.90) in all cities, with slope > 0.70 representing the abundance of fine particles, except for NJ (< 0.70). A low correlation (< 0.5) was noticed between [PM₁₀] and AOD₅₅₀ suggesting that the aerosol particles had a large influence on AOD, contributing less to PM₁₀. Finally, the concentration bivariate probability function (CBPF) and trajectory statistical models like potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) suggested that local and regional sources contributed a lot for the high [PM₂.₅] observed at the four cities in the YRD, China.