Dunedin

Dunedin is a mid-sized city located on the east coast of Otago. For the past five consecutive years, Dunedin has met the National Environmental Standards for air quality. The city has relatively good air quality year-round, although emissions can accumulate in some of the valley areas.

Dunedin’s coastal location is key to its good air quality. The weather is characterised by milder temperatures and more frequent winds of higher speeds throughout the year compared to more inland towns. Prevailing winds are from the northeast (down the harbour) and from the west and northwest. This ventilation helps disperse air particles, generally lowering the overall daily PM₁₀ concentrations in the city.

Town Summary

Air quality in this town

The main source of PM₁₀ in Dunedin, similar to other towns in Otago, is smoke from solid fuel burners used to heat homes during winter.

Sources of air pollution

Home heating Industrial Outdoor burning Traffic Indoor sources Natural sources

In this town, where do emissions come from?

The split between home heating, industrial, outdoor burning and traffic sources

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Sources of PM₁₀ emissions
Sources of PM_2.5 emissions

Source	Annual percentage	Winter day percentage
Home heating	{{emissions.annualhome}}%	{{emissions.winterhome}}%
Industrial	{{emissions.annualindustry}}%	{{emissions.winterindustry}}%
Outdoor burning	{{emissions.annualoutdoor}}%	{{emissions.winteroutdoor}}%
Traffic	{{emissions.annualmotor}}%	{{emissions.wintermotor}}%

Relative breakdown

Annual

Winter day

The table shows the proportions of the main sources of PM in this town from home heating, industrial activities, outdoor burning and traffic. (Indoor sources and natural sources of air pollutants 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 emissions, which allows comparison between towns throughout New Zealand. Some regional council published emissions information might differ if they were prepared in a different year or used another method. Contact your regional council for more information about PM and other emissions.

Seasonal variation

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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 3

Monitored sites in Dunedin

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).

...retrieving sites.

No sites found.

Dunedin

Sources of air pollution

In this town, where do emissions come from?

Seasonal variation

What is this graph showing me?

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