Impacts of Extreme Air Pollution Meteorology on Air Quality in China

Extreme air pollution meteorological events (EAPMEs), such as atmospheric stagnation (AS), heat wave (HW), and temperature inversion, significantly affect regional air quality. In the present study, considerably increased EAPME frequency with clear spatial variations is identified in China from 1960 to 2019. Strong air quality sensitivities to EAPMEs are identified by combing air quality and meteorological observations. We found that HW greatly affects ozone concentration and may enhance the generation of fine particles. AS showed a noticeable but opposite impact on fine particle pollution between northern and southern China owing to the wintertime heating policy. EAPMEs may increase the probability of air pollution for pollution levels greater than 2. For example, the synthetic effects of multiple EAPMEs could increase the probability of summer ozone and winter fine particle pollution in China by factors of up to 5 and 2, respectively. Based on such information, more attention may be needed on the collaborative prediction of extreme meteorological events and air pollution episodes.