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The concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in atmospheric particles were investigated at eight sites in four cities (Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai) of the Pearl River Delta Region (PRDR), China, during winter and summer 2002. The comparison of summer and winter results was made in order to investigate spatial and seasonal variations. PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ samples were collected on pre-fired quartz filters with mini-volume samplers and analyzed by the thermal optical reflectance (TOR) method following the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) protocol. During summer, the average OC and EC concentrations in PM_2.5 were 9.2 and 4.1μgm^–3, while those in PM₁₀ were 12.3 and 5.2μgm^–3. Carbonaceous aerosol accounted for 38.0% of the PM_2.5 and 32.9% of the PM₁₀. The daily average OC, EC, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ concentrations in …