Reefton

Reefton is a small town on the West Coast which, due to geographic, climatic and anthropogenic causes, suffers from poor air quality over the winter months.

Reefton is a small town on the West Coast which, due to geographic, climatic and anthropogenic causes, suffers from poor air quality over the winter months. There has been a permanent monitoring site located in Reefton since 2006. The main source of PM10 is from domestic heating - contributing to 98% of daily winter PM10 emissions (Wilton, 2019). Small contributions come from industry, traffic and outdoor burning. The town is surrounded on three sides by hills which impede air movement. Cold temperatures and reduced air flow during winter can cause an inversion layer to form, restricting the movement of polluted air.

Town Summary

Air quality in this town

Reefton generally has good air quality, however over the winter months daily average PM10 can exceed the national daily limit.

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
Sources of NOx 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 PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) 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 NO_x 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

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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 Reefton

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.

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