Trend and status of air quality at three different monitoring stations in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

Abstract

Over the last decades, the development of the Klang Valley (Malaysia), as an urban commercial and industrial area, has elevated the risk of atmospheric pollutions. There are several significant sources of air pollutants which vary depending on the background of the location they originate from. The aim of this study is to determine the trend and status of air quality and their correlation with the meteorological factors at different air quality monitoring stations in the Klang Valley. The data of five major air pollutants (PM ₁₀, CO, SO ₂, O ₃, NO ₂) were recorded at the Alam Sekitar Sdn Bhd (ASMA) monitoring stations in the Klang Valley, namely Petaling Jaya (S1), Shah Alam (S2) and Gombak (S3). The data from these three stations were compared with the data recorded at Jerantut, Pahang (B), a background station established by the Malaysian Department of Environment. Results show that the concentrations of CO, NO ₂ and SO ₂ are higher at Petaling Jaya (S1) which is due to influence of heavy traffic. The concentrations of PM ₁₀ and O _3, however, are predominantly related to regional tropical factors, such as the influence of biomass burning and of ultra violet radiation from sunlight. They can, though, also be influenced by local sources. There are relatively stronger inter-pollutant correlations at the stations of Gombak and Shah Alam, and the results also suggest that heavy traffic flow induces high concentrations of PM ₁₀, CO, NO ₂ and SO ₂ at the three sampling stations. Additionally, meteorological factors, particularly the ambient temperature and wind speed, may influence the concentration of PM ₁₀ in the atmosphere.