Atmospheric Environment 246 (2021) 118130
Available online 4 December 2020
1352-2310/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Rising surface ozone in China from 2013 to 2017: A response to the recent
atmospheric warming or pollutant controls?
Mengmeng Li
a
, Tijian Wang
a, *
, Lei Shu
a
, Yawei Qu
a
, Min Xie
a
, Jane Liu
a, b
, Hao Wu
c
,
Ume Kalsoom
a
a
School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
b
Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
c
School of Environment Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
HIGHLIGHTS G R A P H I C A L ABSTRACT
• Air pollution trends are uncovered by
satellite data and observations.
• The attributions of surface O
3
changes
are more affected by emission changes.
• O
3
response to atmospheric warming is
dominant south of 30
◦
N in warm season.
• NO
x
and VOC
s
control contributed
equally as aerosol effect in NCP and East
China.
A R T I C L E INFO
Keywords:
Ozone
Atmospheric warming
Emission control
Aerosol effects
ABSTRACT
With the enactment of Air Pollution Action Plan in 2013, the air quality improved in most Chinese cities, except
that surface ozone (O
3
) increased markedly. Some recent studies have examined this issue and presented
controversial opinions, but only focus on summertime ozone increase. This study extends a comprehensive
analysis of the infuencing factors on China’s ozone changes from 2013 to 2017 out of the summer season,
combining satellite data, ground measurements and model analyses. The annual trends of air pollutants, e.g.,
increase in 95th percentile O
3
concentration (+1.4–8.7 μg m
3
yr
1
), and decreases in fne particulate matter
(PM
2.5
; 4.0~7.5 μg m
3
yr
1
) and sulfur dioxide (2.6~9.7 μg m
3
yr
1
) are uncovered by satellite and
observational data. Model results show that the attributions of surface O
3
changes from 2013 to 2017 vary
spatially and seasonally, and most regions are more affected by emission changes (9.5–47.0 μg m
3
) rather than
meteorological changes (8.1–21.3 μg m
3
). In specifc regions and seasons, e.g., south/southwestern and
eastern China south of 35
◦
N in May and July, the surface O
3
responses to climate variability could have an equal
or even greater importance than emission changes. In these major pollution control regions, e.g. northern and
mid-eastern China, the precursor emissions control (11–35%) contributes in the same degree as the changes in
aerosol effects (35–38%) to surface ozone enhancement in the warm seasons. More scientifc emission controls
and climate adaptation strategies are required to attain the synergetic control of atmospheric particulate matter
and ozone in China.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tjwang@nju.edu.cn (T. Wang).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Atmospheric Environment
journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/atmosenv
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.118130
Received 25 August 2020; Received in revised form 16 November 2020; Accepted 1 December 2020