Spatial and Temporal Distribution Characteristics of PM2.5 and PM10 in the Urban Agglomeration of China's Yangtze River Delta, China

Fine particles (PM2.5) and particulate matter (PM10) monitoring data from 2015 to 2016 in 18 major cities in the Yangtze River Delta were analyzed to determine the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of PM2.5 and PM10 pollution in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China. The results showed that the cities with the most serious PM2.5 and PM10 pollution were mainly distributed along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, while the lowest concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were measured in Zhoushan of Zhejiang Province. The PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations in 2016 were lower than those in 2015. In 2015 and 2016, the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were the highest in winter, followed by spring, and the concentrations were the lowest in summer. In 2015 and 2016 the average annual concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were lower than the ambient air quality standard of China (Grade II; PM2.5: 35 mu g/g and PM10: 70 mu g/g) in Zhoushan only, but were higher than the particulate pollutant emission limits of the United States and the European Union. The ratios of PM2.5/PM10 in the urban agglomeration were greater than 0.5, indicating that the pollution in the atmospheric particulate matter in the Yangtze River Delta was generally less than 2.5 mu m.