Chemical characterization of fine particulate matter, source apportionment and long-range transport clusters in Thohoyandou, South Africa

Introduction Ambient air pollution is a major environmental health issue globally due to several health implications associated with various air pollutants (Olaniyan et al., 2015). Of all air pollutants fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is of major concern since it is linked to a number of health implications including premature death in adults with heart and lung disease, strokes, heart attacks, chronic respiratory disease such as bronchitis, aggravated asthma and premature deaths of children from acute lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia (CCAC, 2019). It is estimated that about 7 million people die prematurely every year as a result of exposure to PM2.5 (WHO, 2014). The World Health Organization (WHO) has therefore set the daily guideline value of 25 μg/m3 for PM2.5 concentrations in ambient air and further issued recommendations to countries to lower PM2.5 levels in ambient air (WHO, 2016). In South Africa, the daily standard for PM2.5 is set at 40 μg/m 3 which is much higher compared to the WHO daily guideline.