Multiple linear regression and regression with time series error models in forecasting PM concentrations in Peninsular Malaysia.

Frequent haze occurrences in Malaysia have made the management of PM (particulate matter with aerodynamic less than 10 μm) pollution a critical task. This requires knowledge on factors associating with PM variation and good forecast of PM concentrations. Hence, this paper demonstrates the prediction of 1-day-ahead daily average PM concentrations based on predictor variables including meteorological parameters and gaseous pollutants. Three different models were built. They were multiple linear regression (MLR) model with lagged predictor variables (MLR1), MLR model with lagged predictor variables and PM concentrations (MLR2) and regression with time series error (RTSE) model. The findings revealed that humidity, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, carbon monoxide and ozone were the main factors explaining the PM variation in Peninsular Malaysia. Comparison among the three models showed that MLR2 model was on a same level with RTSE model in terms of forecasting accuracy, while MLR1 model was the worst.