TY - JOUR AU - Govender, Kogieluxmie AU - Sivakumar, Venkataraman PY - 2019/11/29 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - A decadal analysis of particulate matter (PM2.5) and surface ozone (O3) over Vaal Priority Area, South Africa JF - Clean Air Journal JA - Clean Air J. VL - 29 IS - 2 SE - Research Article DO - 10.17159/caj/2019/29/2.7578 UR - https://cleanairjournal.org.za/article/view/7578 SP - AB - <p><span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Atmospheric pollutants that affect human health most significantly are particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) and surface ozone (O<sub>3</sub>). This paper analysed the long-term temporal trends for PM<sub>2.5</sub> and ground level O<sub>3</sub> for six air quality monitoring stations in the Vaal Triangle Area of South Africa from 2007 to 2017. Research has been conducted on the short-term temporal trends for PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration and surface O<sub>3</sub> concentrations. There are no studies that have focussed on the long-term temporal trends for PM<sub>2.5</sub> and O<sub>3</sub> in the Vaal Triangle Area of South Africa, because these air quality monitoring stations have only existed for a period of approximately 11 years. The data used in this study is derived from ground-based instruments from the South African Weather Service. Temporal patterns for time of day, days of the week, and seasons were observed for all air quality stations. PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration increased during early mornings and late afternoons, with higher concentration during weekdays than weekends and an increase from late winter through to spring and summer. Surface O<sub>3 </sub>concentrations peaked during the spring and summer months and during</span> <span lang="EN-AU" style="margin: 0px; font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">midday when there was maximum sunlight acting as a catalyst for photochemical reactions. The long term trends illustrated that there has been no significant decrease in annual average concentration for PM<sub>2.5 </sub>in four of the six stations and surface O<sub>3</sub> for the six stations in the past 10 years in the Vaal Triangle Area of South Africa.</span></p> ER -