Roles of ambient temperature and relative humidity on the relationship between fine particulate matter and gaseous pollutants in the largest industrial city of Ulsan, South Korea

Although meteorological conditions play a significant role in air pollution, research on their effects on the relationship between air pollutants is limited. In this study, trends of six criteria air pollutants were investigated from 15 air quality monitoring stations (AQMSs) in Ulsan, a multi-industrial city in South Korea, during 2015–2019. Unlike CO and O3, SO2, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 showed statistically significant decreasing trends over the period. The companion relationship between PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants was evaluated by their correlations [R (PM2.5–GPs)]. R (PM2.5–NO2) was relatively high at almost all AQMSs, whereas high R (PM2.5–SO2) was observed near the petrochemical industrial complex, suggesting a great influence of local emissions (vehicles and industries). R (PM2.5–CO) and the standardized regression coefficients of CO obtained from the multiple linear regression model were the highest, indicating that combustion processes may significantly contribute to PM2.5. The effect of temperature (T) was more apparent on R (PM2.5–GPs) than that of relative humidity, with significant values under T > 15 °C. Moreover, R (PM2.5–O3) was positive at the T range of 12–18 °C, suggesting that reducing GPs emitted by industrial facilities during May–June may control PM2.5 and O3 in Ulsan. The methodology demonstrated in this study can be further used for a better understanding of the influences of environmental factors on the secondary PM2.5 formation from gaseous precursors and the R (PM2.5–O3).