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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

ISSN 2095-2201

ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

CN 10-1013/X

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Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.    2015, Vol. 9 Issue (6) : 1049-1055    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0662-0
RESEARCH ARTICLE
API-based assessment on urban air environment bearing capability in China
Jinnan WANG(),Jing ZHANG,Hongqiang JIANG,Yaling LU
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Planning and Policy Simulation, Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, Beijing 100012, China
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Abstract

Given the complexity and time-consuming of the conventional environmental capacity based assessment on air environment carrying capacity; a new method for assessing urban air environment carrying capacity based on air pollution index (API) is presented. By using this new method, the air environmental bearing capability of 333 cities at the prefecture level and above is assessed. The results show that of the 333 cities 9.6% is of high bearing capability, 34.5% relatively high bearing capability, 52.6% medium bearing capability, 2.7% low capability, and 0.6% is of weak bearing capability; in terms of regional distribution, the western region is of relatively high air environment bearing capability, followed by north-eastern and eastern regions, and the ambient air quality in the middle region is quite poor; among the 12 urban agglomerations in key regions, Pearl River delta, west side of Taiwan Strait and Chengdu-Chongqing agglomerations are of relatively high carrying capacity while other agglomerations are of medium bearing capability. The assessment results imply that the existing air quality standard (GB3095-1996) is quite unsound.
Keywords air pollution index (API)      air environment bearing capability      key city      assessment method     
Corresponding Author(s): Jinnan WANG   
Online First Date: 28 March 2014    Issue Date: 23 November 2015
 Cite this article:   
Yaling LU,Jing ZHANG,Hongqiang JIANG, et al. API-based assessment on urban air environment bearing capability in China[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2015, 9(6): 1049-1055.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-014-0662-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2015/V9/I6/1049
i air quality state Bi Wi
1 excellent B1 100
2 good B2 75
3 slight pollution B3 45
4 light pollution B4 35
5 medium pollution B5 25
6 medium-heavy pollution B6 15
7 heavy pollution B7 0
Tab.1  Weighing criterion for API grades
grade representational state value of the indicator description
I ideal, high bearing capability 90–100 having very strong carrying capacity
II good,relatively high bearing capability 80–90 having relatively strong carrying capacity
III general,medium bearing capability 70–80 having average carrying capacity
IV early warning,low bearing capability 60–70 having relatively weak carrying capacity
V at risk,weak bearing capability <60 having very weak carrying capacity
Tab.2  Grading of air environment bearing capability
grade of bearing capability loading state of air environment number of cities % of the total
I high 32 9.6
II relatively high 115 34.5
III medium 175 52.6
IV low 9 2.7
V weak 2 0.6
Tab.3  Statistics on the loading state of air environment in cities at prefecture level and above
region number of cities number of cities corresponding to different loading states air environment bearing capability (average value) loading state of air environment
high relatively high medium low weak
eastern 87 9 29 48 1 0 80.75 relatively high
middle 84 2 18 64 0 0 77.74 medium
western 126 18 54 44 8 2 81.26 relatively high
north-eastern 36 3 14 19 0 0 80.61 relatively high
whole country 333 32 115 175 9 2 80.17 relatively high
Tab.4  Regional distribution of urban air environment bearing capability
Fig.1  Regional distribution of cities with different air environment bearing capability
Fig.2  Distribution of bearing capability state of cities in different regions
Fig.3  Air environment bearing capability of key regions
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