Urban and suburban decadal variations in air pollution of Beijing and its meteorological drivers

Abstract

Air pollution is a major threat to human health and ecosystems. Using 10-year (2013–2022) multi-source observations for the Beijing, China, we showed that clean-air actions have significantly reduced PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, and SO2 pollution, with an increase in the surface maximum daily 8-h average ozone (MDA8O3) concentrations during autumn and winter, leading to a rapid diminishment of the urban–suburban gap in air pollution. Secondary sources and vehicle emissions were enhanced in both urban and suburban areas in all seasons except summer from 2013 to 2022. By combining statistical analysis with the convergent cross-mapping model, the varying relationships between air pollution and meteorological conditions in the urban and suburban areas were delineated. The results suggested that boundary layer height and relative humidity exerted strong and stable influences on all air pollutants, except for MDA8O3, whose key meteorological driver was temperature. This study showed that increasing O3 trends in autumn and winter and aggravated O3 formation in summer in urban areas in Beijing became non-negligible from 2013 to 2022, despite the declining levels of air pollutants. Meteorological observations suggested that weather patterns in Beijing, characterized by higher temperatures, sunshine hours, and boundary layer height and lower relative humidity, have become more favorable for O3 formation in autumn and winter. Future mitigation efforts should focus on reducing VOC and NOx emissions to avoid further deterioration of O3 pollution under the frequent adverse meteorological conditions predicted under the background of global warming.