Temporal and Spatial Variation Characteristics of Air Pollution and Prevention and Control Measures: Evidence from Anhui Province, China

The rapid advancement of industrialization and urbanization has caused air pollution and increased the pressure on the urban ecological environment. Meanwhile, the unreasonable energy structure, emissions of pollution sources by chemical enterprises, and motor vehicle exhaust have aggravated the air pollution in urban areas. To analyse the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of air pollution and propose specific prevention and control measures for air pollution, taking Anhui Province in China as an example, this study analyses the causes of air pollution by using the air pollution index (API) data of Anhui Province obtained from 2013 to 2015. A comparative analysis is conducted on the API data from 2013 to 2015, and air quality in different cities of Anhui Province in 2015 is evaluated. Results show that unreasonable energy structure, accelerated urban infrastructure construction, and increasing motor vehicle emissions are the main cause of air pollution in Anhui Province. From temporal and spatial perspectives, the average APIs of different cities in Anhui Province from 2013 to 2015 were 64.8, 73.2 and 70.8 respectively. These values reveal the overall fluctuating growth trend of air pollution. From the spatial perspective, the number of days with good air quality in 14 cities of Anhui Province in 2015 ranged from 262 days to 365 days, which accounted for 71.8% to 100% of the total days in a year. It reflects that the degree of urban air pollution in northern Anhui is higher than that in southern Anhui. The conclusions reveal the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of air pollution, and provide policy suggestions for formulating scientific air pollution control measures, effectively implementing air pollution management and improving the current air pollution status.