Analysis of short-term air quality monitoring data in a coastal area

Abstract

Short-term air quality monitoring in a coastal area, Naklua Subdistrict, Pattaya, Thailand is an activity to support the designated area under Thailand's sustainable tourism development. This study provided a short-term monitoring data analysis on time series and Bivariate Polar Plot (BVP) to provide the status of air quality and to determine the potential source area of air pollution. The result showed that NO2, SO2, CO and PM10 were not higher than the national air quality standards, while the 24-hour average of PM2.5 and the 8-hour average of O3 were slightly higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline values. The nighttime PM2.5 concentration was higher than the daytime concentration, and its potential source area is urban areas in the south. However, the daytime O3 concentration is higher than the nighttime concentration. Its potential source area is from the northwest, where Sichang island is located. This result could be used to support air pollution management by controlling and reducing emissions in the potential source areas as the first priority. Also, the study revealed that the BVP technique could be used to determine the source area of air pollution in the coastal area, where wind circulation is more complex than that over the land.