2017–2020 trends of particulate matter PM10 concentrations in the cities of Suceava and Botoșani

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the trends and variability of PM10 concentrations at three monitoring sites in Suceava and Botoșani cities from 2017 to 2020. The results reveal a declining trend in PM10 concentrations at the urban background stations (SV1 and BT1), while the industrial site (SV2) indicated a slight increasing trend until 2019. The cold season recorded the highest daily PM10 concentrations, with peak values of 133.5 μg/m3, 114.9 μg/m3, and 91.8 μg/m3 at SV2, BT1, and SV1, respectively. Annual average PM10 concentrations decreased at SV1 and BT1, showing reductions of 6.7% and 19.7% in 2020 compared to 2017, respectively. The 90.4th percentile, with a threshold limit of 50 μg/m3, exceeded the limit during the 2018-2020 period at SV2. Pearson correlation analysis indicates a significant positive correlation between PM10 and NO2 (R = 0.66 in SV2) and CO (R = 0.69 in SV2, R = 0.54 in BT1) during the winter season. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between PM10 and benzene in BT1, during both the warm season (R = 0.41) and the cold season (R = 0.66). These results provide insights into the spatiotemporal variability of PM10 and its relationship with other air pollutants.

Keywords

• pm10
• trends
• pearson correlation coefficient
• suceava
• botosani
• thermal inversions
• air quality