Source apportionment of PM 2.5 in Thailand’s deep south by principal component analysis and impact of transboundary haze

Atmospheric particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micron (PM 2.5 ) was evaluated at four sites in the lower southern part of Thailand during 2019–2020 to understand the impact of PM 2.5 transport from peatland fires in Indonesia on air quality during the southwest monsoon season. Mass concentration and chemical bound-PM, including carbon composition, e.g., organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and inorganic elements, were analyzed. The PM 2.5 emission sources were identified by principal components analysis (PCA). The average mass concentrations of PM 2.5 in the normal period, which represents clean background air, from four sites was 3.5–5.1 µg/m 3 , whereas during the haze period, it rose to 5.4–13.5 µg/m 3 . During the haze period, both OC and EC were 3.5 times as high as in the normal period. The average total PAHs and BaP-TEQ of PM 2.5 during the haze period were ~ 1.3–1.7 and ~ 1.2–1.9 times higher than those in the normal period. The K concentrations significantly increased during haze periods. SO 4 2− dominated throughout the year. The effects of external sources, especially the transboundary haze from peatland fires, were significantly enhanced, because the background air in the study locations was generally clean. PCA indicated that vehicle emission, local biomass burning, and secondary particles played a key role during normal period, whereas open biomass burning dominated during the haze phenomena. This was consistent with the OC/EC and PAH diagnostic ratios. Backward trajectories confirmed that the sources of PM during the haze period were predominantly peatland fires in Sumatra, Indonesia, due to southwest wind.