PM2.5 Pollution Decrease in Paris, France, for the 2013–2024 Period: An Evaluation of the Local Source Contributions by Removing the Effect of Wind Speed

Measuring the long-term trend of PM2.5 mass-concentration in urban environments is essential, as it has a direct impact on human health. PM2.5 levels depend not only on the intensity of local emission sources and on imported pollution, but also on meteorological conditions (e.g., anticyclonic versus windy conditions), which leads to yearly variations in mean PM2.5 values. Two datasets available for Paris, France, are considered: measurements from Airparif air quality agency network and from the Pollutrack network of mobile car-based sensors. Also, meteorological parameters coming from ERA5 analysis (ECMWF) are considered. Annual values are calculated using 3 different statistical methods, which yield different results. For the 2013-2024 period, a clear relationship between wind speed and PM2.5 mass-concentration levels is established. The results show a linear decrease in both concentration and standard deviation for wind speeds in the 0 – 6 m.s-1 range, followed by nearly stable values for wind speed above 6 m.s-1. This behavior is explained by the dispersive effect of strong winds on air pollution. Under such conditions, which occur about 10% of the time in Paris, the contribution of persistent background sources can be isolated. Using the 6 m·s⁻¹ threshold, the average annual linear decrease in emissions from local sources is estimated at 4.1 and 4.3 % per year for the Airparif and Pollutrack data, respectively. Since 2023, the annual background value attributed to emission has been close to 5 µg.m-3, in agreement with WHO recommendations. This approach could be used to monitor the effects of regulations on traffic and heating emissions, and could be applied to other cities for estimating background pollution levels. Finally, future studies should therefore prioritize number concentrations and size distributions, rather than mass-concentrations.