Publication

Drivers for the poor air quality conditions in North China Plain during the COVID-19 outbreak

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Last modified
  • 05/15/2025
Type of Material
Authors
    Mengmeng Li, Nanjing UniversityTijian Wang, Nanjing UniversityMin Xie, Nanjing UniversityShu Li, Nanjing UniversityBingliang Zhuang, Nanjing UniversityQingyan Fu, Shanghai Environmental Monitoring CenterMing Zhao, Nanjing UniversityHao Wu, Nanjing UniversityJane Liu, Nanjing UniversityEri Saikawa, Emory UniversityKuo Liao, Fujian Meteorological Institute
Language
  • English
Date
  • 2021-01-21
Publisher
  • PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication Version
Copyright Statement
  • © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Final Published Version (URL)
Title of Journal or Parent Work
Volume
  • 246
Start Page
  • 118103
End Page
  • 118103
Grant/Funding Information
  • This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41975153, 42077192), the National Key Basic Research Development Program of China (2019YFC0214603, 2020YFA0607802), the Emory University-Nanjing University Collaborative Research Grant, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (14380051, 14380056).
Supplemental Material (URL)
Abstract
  • China's lockdown to control COVID-19 brought significant declines in air pollutant emissions, but haze was still a serious problem in North China Plain (NCP) during late-January to mid-February of 2020. We seek the potential causes for the poor air quality in NCP combining satellite data, ground measurements and model analyses. Efforts to constrain COVID-19 result in a drop-off of primary gaseous pollutants, e.g., −42.4% for surface nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and −38.9% for tropospheric NO2 column, but fine particulate matter (PM25) still remains high and ozone (O3) even increases sharply (+84.1%). Stagnant weather during COVID-19 outbreak, e.g., persistent low wind speed, frequent temperature inversion and wind convergence, is one of the major drivers for the poor air quality in NCP. The surface PM2.5 levels vary between −12.9~+15.1% in NCP driven by the varying climate conditions between the years 2000 and 2020. Besides, the persistent PM2.5 pollution might be maintained by the still intensive industrial and residential emissions (primary PM2.5), and increased atmospheric oxidants (+26.1% for ozone and +29.4% for hydroxyl radical) in response to the NO2 decline (secondary PM2.5). Further understanding the nonlinear response between atmospheric secondary aerosols and NOx emissions is meaningful to cope with the emerging air pollution problems in China.
Author Notes
  • Mengmeng Li: Methodology, Writing - original draft, Software. Shu Li: Software, Supervision. Bingliang Zhuang: Resources, Data curation. Qingyan Fu: Data curation. Ming Zhao: Validation. Hao Wu: Validation. Jane Liu: Writing - review & editing. Eri Saikawa: Formal analysis. Kuo Liao: Visualization.
Keywords
Research Categories
  • Health Sciences, Public Health
  • Biology, Virology
  • Environmental Sciences

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