Beijing has suffered from heavy local emissions as well as regional transport of air pollutants, resulting in severe atmospheric fine-particle (PM2.5) pollution. This study developed a combined method to investigate source types of PM2.5 and its source regions during winter 2016 in Beijing, which include the receptor model (positive matrix factorization, PMF), footprint and an air quality model. T...

While general monitoring stations provide essential data on criteria air pollutants across a larger area, air quality research supersites offer comprehensive chemical composition measurements, albeit with limited spatial coverage. This study demonstrates the complementary roles of these two types of monitoring. Using data from the Hong Kong air quality monitoring network of 15 stations, we identif...

Highlights:Study of an intense winter episode of particulate pollution in the Paris region.Exceptional stagnant conditions explain the highest concentrations.Organic matter of local origin dominates the chemical composition of the particles with also a strong nitrate component from traffic.Significant values of oxidative potential are observed....

This CAMS assessment report provides reference information on the state of air quality in Europe in 2024. It is based on key products provided by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) including state of the art modelling and reference measurements collected by Member States. This report consist of two parts: a first part describing the status of the air quality in Europe and a s...

Many cities in India experience severe deterioration of air quality in winter. Particulate matter is a key atmospheric pollutant that impacts millions of people. In particular, the high mass concentration of particulate matter reduces visibility, which has severely damaged the economy and endangered human lives. But the underlying chemical mechanisms and physical processes responsible for initiati...

Delhi, India, routinely experiences some of the world’s highest urban particulate matter concentrations. Authors established the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study to provide long-term characterization of the ambient submicron aerosol composition in Delhi. Here authors report on 1.25 years of highly time-resolved speciated submicron particulate matter (PM1) data, including black carbon (BC) and nonrefr...

Recent research has revealed the crucial role of wintertime, episodic high chloride (H-Cl) emissions in the Delhi region, which significantly impact aerosol hygroscopicity and aerosol-bound liquid water, thus contributing to the initiation of Delhi fog episodes. However, these findings have primarily relied on modeled aerosol hygroscopicity, necessitating validation through direct hygroscopicity m...

Low-cost sensors (LCS) offer the opportunity to measure urban air quality at a spatiotemporal scale that is finer than what is currently practical with expensive research- or regulatory-grade instruments. Recently, the LCS research community has focused largely on sensor calibration, pollution monitoring, and exposure assessment; here, authors investigate the applicability of LCS for characterizin...

Knowledge of air pollution sources is important in policymaking and air pollution mitigation. Until recently, source apportion analyses were limited and only possible with the use of expensive regulatory-grade instruments. In the present study authors applied a two-step positive matrix factorisation (PMF) receptor analysis at a background site in Birmingham, UK using data acquired by low-cost sens...

This study analyzed the variability of equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations and their sources in urban Europe to provide insights into the use of eBC as an advanced air quality (AQ) parameter for AQ standards. This study compiled eBC mass concentration datasets covering the period between 2006 and 2022 from 50 measurement stations, including 23 urban background (UB), 18 traffic (TR), ...