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Gisborne

The Gisborne region is located on the East Coast of New Zealand. Gisborne City itself is coastal and receives fine ocean spray across the city during onshore (SW) wind conditions. The prevailing wind direction is nor-westerly. During winter, the majority of airborne pollutants come from the northerly direction. Household fires are the main contributor to air pollutants during the colder winter months. 

There is one permanent air quality monitoring site in Gisborne for a major pollutant of concern – PM10. This is located at Gisborne Boys' High School and monitors levels of PM in the air. Our PM daily average levels are very rarely outside of the National Environmental Standards (50 micrograms/cubic metre of air over 24 hours), but there are times of the day when they can be elevated above the health guidelines. This relates to peak times for car use (school drop offs, pick ups and commutes to and from work) and people starting up their wood burners/fires in the evening in winter. 

There was also an Air Quality monitoring site located at Oates Street, close to Gisborne Airport. This was based on ageing technology and the technology was decommissioned in 2018.

 

Town Summary
Air quality in this town

At the moment the urban area of Gisborne city does not have a gazetted airshed. The air quality in Gisborne city air quality does vary, with spatial differences and a noticeable peak in PM10 and PM2.5 in winter due to domestic heating emissions from wood burners. This typically happens between May – August and occurs on cold still nights when the temperature drops below 5°C. 

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 1
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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