Characteristics and potential sources of wintertime air pollution in Linfen, China

Linfen in China’s Shanxi Province suffers severe air pollution in winter. Understanding the characteristics of air pollution and providing scientific support to mitigate such pollution are urgent matters. This study investigated the variations of PM(2.5), PM(10), NO(2), SO(2), O(3), and CO in Linfen between December 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020. The mean concentrations of PM(2.5), PM(10), NO(2), SO(2), MDA8 (the maximum daily 8-h average) O(3), and CO were 106.2, 139.4, 47.2, 41.0, 57.0 μg m(−3), and 1.8 mg m(−3), respectively. Large amounts of pollutants emitted by coal burning, industry, vehicles, and residents contributed to air pollution. Unfavorable meteorological conditions, such as lower temperature, weaker wind, higher relative humidity, and reduced planetary boundary layer height, made the situation worse. Fireworks and firecrackers set off to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals caused the concentration of PM pollutants to spike, with the maximum daily mean concentration of PM(2.5) reached 314 μg m(−3) and the peak hourly value reached 378.0 μg m(−3). Suspensions of commercial and social activities due to COVID-19 reduced anthropogenic emissions, mainly from industry and transportation, which decreased the level of air pollutants other than O(3). Analyses involving backward trajectory cluster, the potential source contribution function, and concentration weighted trajectory demonstrated that PM(2.5) pollution mainly came from local emissions in Shanxi Province and regional transport from Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, and Gansu provinces. Shanxi and its surrounding provinces should adopt measures such as tightening environmental management standards, promoting the use of renewable energy, and adjusting the transportation structure to reduce regional emissions. This study will help policy-makers draft plans and policies to reduce air pollution in Linfen. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-021-09036-8.