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Gisborne

Gisborne City is the largest urban area within the Tairawhiti region.

Gisborne District Council monitors the levels of particulate matter in the urban air shed of Gisborne using an optical monitoring device located at Gisborne Boys' High School. Our PM10 daily average levels do exceed the National Environmental Standards (50 micrograms/cubic metre of air over 24 hours) on occasion during the winter months.

A prior air quality monitoring site located at Oates Street, close to Gisborne Airport was decommissioned in 2018 due to access requirements and ageing equipment.

Town Summary
Air quality in this town

The urban area of Gisborne has an air shed classified as ‘polluted’, primarily due to emissions from domestic wood burners and open fires used for home heating in the winter months between May-August.  PM10 typically builds up over 24 hrs on cold still nights when the temperature drops below 5 degrees Celsius.  Other sources of particulate include heavy vehicle emissions, natural sources such as entrained dust from agricultural practices and sea salt.

During the summer months, air quality in Gisborne is generally very good.

Sources of air pollution

Home heating Industrial Outdoor burning Traffic Indoor sources Natural sources
  • Show Hide
    • Sources of PM10 emissions
    • Sources of PM2.5 emissions
    • Sources of NOx emissions
    Source Annual percentage Winter day percentage
    Home heating Home heating {{emissions.annualhome}}% {{emissions.winterhome}}%
    Industrial Industrial {{emissions.annualindustry}}% {{emissions.winterindustry}}%
    Outdoor burning Outdoor burning {{emissions.annualoutdoor}}% {{emissions.winteroutdoor}}%
    Traffic Traffic {{emissions.annualmotor}}% {{emissions.wintermotor}}%
    Relative breakdown
    Annual
    Winter day

    The table shows the proportions of the main sources of PM10, PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in this town from home heating, industrial activities, outdoor burning and traffic.  (Indoor, natural and shipping sources are not included in this breakdown). 

    These values come from 2013 data sourced from MfE’s data service.  Consistent methodology was used to calculate these estimates of PM and NOx emissions, which allows comparison between towns throughout New Zealand.  Regional council or unitary authority published emissions information might differ if they were prepared in a different year or used another method. Contact your regional council or unitary authority for more information about PM and other emissions in your area.

Seasonal variation

  • Show wind speed
  • Show temperature
Showing:

PM10

PM2.5

Wind speed (km/h)

Air temperature (℃)

What is this graph showing me?

The graph shows the monthly average PM concentrations at one representative site in this town for the year selected. In many towns in New Zealand, PM peaks in the winter when air temperatures and wind speeds are lowest as more people heat their homes during colder weather, and still conditions mean that there is no wind to disperse the air pollutants.

Sites 2
Monitored sites in Gisborne

Monitored sites in this town can be categorised according to location:

  • Residential: Air monitoring site is in a suburban area with a relatively high population density, but not close to a busy road or industry.
  • Traffic: Air monitoring site is very close to a busy road or intersection.
  • Industry: Air monitoring site is close to industry, including heavy commercial and processing factories.
  • Coastal: Air monitoring site is close to the coast where there are high levels of sea salt in the air.
  • NES: A site monitored for compliance with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NES-AQ).

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