Spatiotemporal characteristics of PM2.5 and ozone concentrations in Chinese urban clusters

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) Vol. 295; p. 133813
• Main Authors: Deng, Chuxiong, Tian, Si, Li, Zhongwu, Li, Ke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2022
• Subjects: air pollution; basins; China; cities; data collection; Non-linear granger causality testing; Ozone; photochemical reactions; PM2.5; pollution control; river deltas; rivers; Spatiotemporal characteristics; summer; topographic slope; Urban clusters; Yangtze River; China; Yangtze River; Ozone; Non-linear granger causality testing; Urban clusters; PM2.5; Spatiotemporal characteristics
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133813
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298

Despite China's public commitment to emphasise air pollution investigation and control, trends in PM2.5 and ozone concentrations in Chinese urban clusters remain unclear. This study quantifies the spatiotemporal variations in PM2.5 and surface ozone at the scale of Chinese urban clusters by using a long-term integrated dataset from 2015 to 2020. Nonlinear Granger causality testing was used to explore the spatial association patterns of PM2.5 and ozone pollution in five megacity cluster regions. The results show a significant downward trend in annual mean PM2.5 concentrations from 2015 to 2020, with a decline rate of 2.8 μg m-3 yr-1. By contrast, surface ozone concentrations increased at a rate of 2.1 μg m-3 yr-1 over the 6 years. The annual mean PM2.5 concentrations in urban clusters show significant spatial clustering characteristics, mainly in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Fenwei Plain (FWP), Northern slope of Tianshan Mountains urban cluster (NSTM), Sichuan Basin urban cluster (SCB), and Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Surface ozone shows severe summertime pollution and distributional variability, with increased ozone pollution in major urban clusters. The highest increases were observed in BTH, Yangtze River midstream urban cluster (YRMR), YRD, and Pearl River Delta (PRD). Nonlinear Granger causality tests showed that PM2.5 was a nonlinear Granger cause of ozone, further supporting the literature's findings that PM2.5 reduction promoted photochemical reaction rates and stimulated ozone production. The nonlinear test statistic passed the significance test in magnitude and statistical significance. FWP was an exception, with no significant long-term nonlinear causal link between PM2.5 and ozone. This study highlights the challenges of compounded air pollution caused primarily by ozone and secondary PM2.5. These results have implications for the design of synergistic pollution abatement policies for coupled urban clusters. [Display omitted] •Spatial-temporal evolution of PM2.5 and ozone pollution was investigated.•The annual mean PM2.5 showed a significant decrease from 2015 to 2020.•Ozone was increased by 2.02 μg m−3 yr−1 in 2015–2020.•The government should pay more attention to collaborative control of air pollution.