Spatio-Temporal Variation Characteristics of PM(2.5) in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China, from 2013 to 2018

Air pollution, including particulate matter (PM(2.5)) pollution, is extremely harmful to the environment as well as human health. The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) Region has experienced heavy PM(2.5) pollution within China. In this study, a six-year time series (January 2013–December 2018) of PM(2.5) mass concentration data from 102 air quality monitoring stations were studied to understand the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of the BTH region. The average annual PM(2.5) mass concentration in the BTH region decreased from 98.9 μg/m(3) in 2013 to 64.9 μg/m(3) in 2017. Therefore, China has achieved its Air Pollution Prevention and Control Plan goal of reducing the concentration of fine particulate matter in the BTH region by 25% by 2017. The PM(2.5) pollution in BTH plain areas showed a more significant change than mountains areas, with the highest PM(2.5) mass concentration in winter and the lowest in summer. The results of spatial autocorrelation and cluster analyses showed that the PM(2.5) mass concentration in the BTH region from 2013–2018 showed a significant spatial agglomeration, and that spatial distribution characteristics were high in the south and low in the north. Changes in PM(2.5) mass concentration in the BTH region were affected by both socio-economic factors and meteorological factors. Our results can provide a point of reference for making PM(2.5) pollution control decisions.