GAW Report No. 205 - IGAC Project

CHAPTER 3 - ASIAAside from Seoul, intensive research studies on chemical components of urban air wereconducted in adjacent urban cities (i.e., Incheon) during August to October 2004 to supplement theair quality information in the Seoul Metropolitan City. Using a high time resolution measurementmethod for organic carbon and elemental carbon, it was identified that elevated concentrationevents were brought about by transported aerosols in the direction originating from high traffichighways (12). Lim, 2005 retrieved the NO 2 using Imaging Differential Absorption Sprectroscopy(I-DOAS) Technique to understand the rate of plume emission coming from two stacks of a thermalpower plant near the Seoul Metropolitan City area (13). In 2005, Kim et al studied the fineparticulate matter characteristics and its impact on visibility in Seoul and Incheon (14).In emerging megacities such as Gwangju, South Korea, Asian DSS and haze events arealso compromising air quality. Several studies have been conducted to study the aerosolcharacteristics and surface radiative forcing components during a dust outbreak in Gwangju (15) aswell as some aerosol optical properties and satellite parameters (16, 17, 18). For instance, during asevere haze and smoke episodes in Gwangju, aerosol optical properties and microphysicalparameters were determined from the ground using a multi wavelength Raman Lidar. Two differentaerosol types were identified based on the variability of optical characteristics for different air massconditions and indicated that there is a distinct light absorbing characteristics (based on Singlescattering albedo , SSA) for different haze aerosols from China (haze) and from Siberia (forest-firesmoke). The features of two air mass characteristics (haze and smoke) are now understood interms of their optical properties and microphysical parameters (16).Problems remainingMuch effort has to be made to improve air quality in metropolitan areas (Seoul City,Gyeonggi province, and other metropolitan cities) in order to meet the more stringent air qualitystandards that were applied in 2007 to Particulate Matters (PM 10 : from 70 µg m -3 to 50 µg m -3 ) andNitrogen dioxide (NO 2 : from 50 ppb to 30 ppb). Although the MOE has launched an emission capsystem, the effectiveness will not be seen for a few more years. Still, there is much to focus on,especially the inventory of VOCs in the Seoul urban area, which is notorious for serious air pollutionissues. Although the Clean Air Conservation Act was enacted in 1990, certain revisions were donein order to tailor-fit it to the provincial and municipal jurisdictions for better implementation and toKorean atmospheric conditions. Lastly, the severity of the effect DSS and other long-rangetransported pollutants needs to be further studied in order to create more efficient countermeasuresduring the events.5.12 SHANGHAI, CHINAIntroductionShanghai is a coastal megacity in the southeast of China and is located between 30 o 40’ Nto 31 o 53’ N latitude and between 120 o 51’ and 122 o 12’ longitude. The administration area ofShanghai is 6340.5 km 2 , with a width of 100 km in the east-west direction and a length of 120 km inthe south-north direction. Shanghai is in the front of the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta.The city is embraced by a river basin: the East Sea lies to the east, the Yangtze River lies to thenorth, the Hangzhou Bay to the south and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces border Shanghai to thewest. Shanghai experiences a subtropical monsoon climate with plenty of rainfall. Shanghai’sgeographic location and climate condition favour the dispersion of air pollutants.As one of the first regions in China to initiate a market economy, Shanghai has beenexperiencing very rapid economic growth since the 1980s. The GDP of Shanghai has beenincreasing at a rate of more than 10%/yr within the last 15 years and the GDP per capita exceeded10,000 USD for the first time in 2008 [Shanghai Statistical Yearbook, 2009]. The energyconsumption increased at an average rate of 6% per year correspondingly, reaching 10% per yearthe past three years. The increase in energy consumption resulted from rapid economic growth,which is followed by the dramatic increase of air pollutant emissions, and deteriorated air quality inShanghai. Additionally, the increase of vehicles has also played a significant role in decreasing theair quality in Shanghai.119