Spatial and seasonal variation of PM10 mass concentrations in Taiwan

Hourly data of PM10 concentration collected from an air quality-monitoring network has been analyzed over Taiwan from 1994 to 1999. Fourteen sites from 72 monitoring stations were selected to evaluate the spatial and seasonal variations in the regions of north, southwest, south, east and National Park. The selected monitoring sites are located in a suburban environment, except Nantz and Linyuan that are located in industrial areas. Moreover, Yangming and Hengchuen are located in National Park. Spatial and seasonal variations of PM10 concentrations are rather large over Taiwan. Annual average in south is approximately six times higher than in National parks. In northern sites, the highest concentration occurs in March–May, which is attributed to the occurrence of dust storms in arid regions of central Asia and the transport of dust by northeasterly monsoon. A marked seasonal variation of PM10 concentrations can be observed both in southwestern and southern regions. The pattern is characterized by high concentrations in winter and low in summer. Appearance of the highest monthly PM10 concentration in winter of south may be in part due to the lowest number of monthly precipitation days and low temperature, both of which occurred in winter. The frequency of PM10 daily mean concentration for exceeded 150 μg m−3 is 15% during winter in south, which reflects the serious pollution problem there. Monitoring sites in National Park are representatives of remote environments, but the PM10 concentrations are still affected by the dust storms and human activities.