Variability of PM10 level with gaseous pollutants and meteorological parameters during episodic haze event in Malaysia: Domestic or solely transboundary factor?

Nur Alis Addiena A Rahim; Norazian Mohamed Noor; Izzati Amani Mohd Jafri; Ahmad Zia Ul-Saufie; Norazrin Ramli; Nor Amirah Abu Seman; Ain Nihla Kamarudzaman; Mohd Remy Rozainy Mohd Arif Zainol; Sandu Andrei Victor; Gyorgy Deak

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17472

Variability of PM₁₀ level with gaseous pollutants and meteorological parameters during episodic haze event in Malaysia: Domestic or solely transboundary factor?

Heliyon. 2023 Jun 20;9(6):e17472. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17472. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Nur Alis Addiena A Rahim^{1

2}, Norazian Mohamed Noor^{1

2}, Izzati Amani Mohd Jafri^{1

2}, Ahmad Zia Ul-Saufie^{2

3}, Norazrin Ramli^{1

2}, Nor Amirah Abu Seman¹, Ain Nihla Kamarudzaman¹, Mohd Remy Rozainy Mohd Arif Zainol^{2

4}, Sandu Andrei Victor^{5

6}, Gyorgy Deak⁷

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Civil Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Jejawi, 02600, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.
² Sustainable Environment Research Group (SERG), Centre of Excellence Geopolymer and Technology (CEGeoGTech), Jejawi, 02600, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia.
³ Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam, 40450, Malaysia.
⁴ School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Nibong Tebal, Penang, 14300, Malaysia.
⁵ Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Blvd. D. Mangeron 71, 700050, Iasi, Romania.
⁶ Romanian Inventors Forum, Str. Sf. P. Movila 3, 700089, Iasi, Romania.
⁷ National Institute for Research and Development in Environmental Protection INCDPM, Splaiul Independentei 294, 060031, Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

Haze has become a seasonal phenomenon affecting Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, and has occurred almost every year within the last few decades. Air pollutants, specifically particulate matter, have drawn a lot of attention due to their adverse impact on human health. In this study, the spatial and temporal variability of the PM₁₀ concentration at Kelang, Melaka, Pasir Gudang, and Petaling Jaya during historic haze events were analysed. An hourly dataset consisting of PM₁₀, gaseous pollutants and weather parameters were obtained from Department of Environment Malaysia. The mean PM₁₀ concentrations exceeded the stipulated Recommended Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Guideline for the yearly average of 150 μg/m³ except for Pasir Gudang in 1997 and 2005, and Petaling Jaya in 2013. The PM₁₀ concentrations exhibit greater variability in the southwest monsoon and inter-monsoon periods at the studied year. The air masses are found to be originating from the region of Sumatra during the haze episodes. Strong to moderate correlation of PM₁₀ concentrations was found between CO during the years that recorded episodic haze, meanwhile, the relationship of PM₁₀ level with SO₂ was found to be significant in 2013 with significant negatively correlated relative humidity. Weak correlation of PM₁₀-NOx was measured in all study areas probably due to less contribution of domestic anthropogenic sources towards haze events in Malaysia.

Keywords: Air quality modeling; Haze; Particulate matter; Pearson correlation.