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Mosgiel

Mosgiel is an urban satellite of Dunedin, 15 kilometres west of the city centre. It is the gateway to the agricultural community of the Taieri Plains and contains a commercial hub surrounded by residential land, with some industrial discharges within and nearby the town. The town has undergone significant population growth in recent years. Air quality monitoring began in Mosgiel in 2005.

Mosgiel has a mixture of sources which contribute to degraded air quality during winter, including domestic home heating emissions, industrial and vehicle emissions and occasionally outdoor burning emissions. There can be considerable variation in air quality across Mosgiel during winter evenings, although the peak values can be found in the residential areas towards the north and west. The prevailing winds on nights with poor air quality generally come from the northeast through southeast, pushing particulates towards the western side of town. Long-term trends indicate that air quality is very slowly improving.

Town Summary
Air quality in this town

Like other Otago towns, Mosgiel can experience poor winter air quality when smoke from domestic and industrial emissions concentrates near the ground surface. Temperature inversions can commonly form in winter to create conditions that discourage dispersion, allowing PM10 to accumulate. Mosgiel exceeds the National Environmental Standards for PM10 a couple times a year.

 

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 Mosgiel

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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