[1] The data of a 1-year (2003)(2004) simulation with a finest horizontal resolution of 1.5 km, using the Fifth-Generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5), were analyzed to investigate the seasonal-mean features of the land-sea breeze (LSB) and regional circulation over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in southern China. The seasonal-mean diurnal variations reveal the general patterns of the LSB in the four seasons. These small-scale mean flow fields in the region have not been revealed in any previous studies. The results reveal a strong anomalous westerly sea breeze toward the eastern coast of the PRD in the early afternoon that is present in all the four seasons but is particularly strong in autumn and winter and may enhance the low-level convergence in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the condition of the atmosphere in autumn and winter is much more stable when compared with that in spring and summer, which is not favorable for the vertical dispersion of pollutants. The overall effect of these mean meteorological conditions may be an important factor for the generally higher air pollution index observed in Hong Kong during autumn and winter.

ABSTRACT:In this study, the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Model (MM5) was used to investigate the effects of urbanization on land-sea breezes (LSBs) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, which is a rapidly developing area located in southern China. LSBs in the 2003/2004 winter were simulated utilizing an approach in which the NCEP Final Analysis data averaged in the 2003/2004 winter is used as initial and lateral boundary conditions for the model. The simulated surface winds are shown to be capable of reproducing the basic features and diurnal variation of the LSBs. Sensitivity experiments with changes in land uses were performed with this model. Results of these experiments show that urbanization in the PRD region can have significant effects on the patterns of the LSBs and circulation in the region. In particular, it has been shown that the urbanization of Shenzhen (a major city located in the eastern coast of the PRD and neighbouring to the north of Hong Kong) may significantly enhance the sea breeze to the west of Hong Kong in the early afternoon. This may enhance the low-level convergence in Hong Kong and may worsen the air pollution problem there. On the other hand, the effects of urbanization in the western coast of the PRD region are relatively local and LSBs on the eastern PRD are generally not affected.

This study investigates the impact of the south Indian Ocean Dipole (SIOD) on the frequency of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the South China Sea (SCS) in summer (May-August) and winter (September-December) for 1975-2012. The frequency of TCs over the SCS shows significant inter-annual variations in the two seasons and relatively obvious inter-decadal variability in summer. A prominent relationship occurs between the TC generation over the SCS and the SIOD, and the latter can be regarded as a good predictor of the former on inter-annual scale. In winter, vertical circulation is obvious due to a strong SIOD induces intensified ascending motions and high sea surface temperature over the northern SCS with sufficient moisture that supplies a favourable environment for TC formation. The impact of SIOD is weaker in summer but a convergent zone with upwards motion also can be found over northeastern SCS. In addition, the SIOD and El Niño-Southern Oscillation are two primary impacting factors in winter and TC numbers increase when La Niña and positive SIOD events occur simultaneously. However, the SIOD is a dominant and independent impacting factor in summer and El Niño events just play a secondary role.

No abstract

Peroxy acetyl nitrate (PAN) is an important photochemical product formed from the reactions between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) under sunlight. In this study, a field measurement was conducted at a rural site (the backgarden site, or BGS) of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in 2006, with the 10 min maximum PAN mixing ratios of 3.9 ppbv observed. The factors influencing the abundance of PAN at the BGS site was evaluated by the process analysis through the Weather Research and Forecasting-Community Multiscale Air Quality (WRF-CMAQ) model. The results suggested that the increase of PAN abundance at the BGS site was mainly controlled by the gas-phase chemistry, followed by vertical transport, while its loss was modulated mainly by dry deposition and horizontal transport. As the dominant important role of gas-phase chemistry, to provide detailed information on the photochemical formation of PAN, a photochemical box model with near-explicit chemical mechanism (i.e., the master chemical mechanism, MCM) was used to explore the relationship of photochemical PAN formation with its precursors based on the measured data at the BGS site. It was found that PAN formation was VOC-limited at the BGS site, with the oxidation of acetaldehyde the most important pathway for photochemical PAN production, followed by the oxidation and photolysis of methylglyoxal (MGLY). Among all the primary VOC precursors, isoprene and xylenes were the main contributors to PAN formation. Overall, our study provides new insights into the PAN photochemical formation and its controlling factors, and highlighted the importance of gas chemistry on the PAN abundance in the PRD region.Atmosphere 2018, 9, 372 2 of 16 nitrogen oxides (NO x ), PAN could also be formed in air far away from these sources. PAN is relatively stable at low temperatures; however, it can be decomposed when the atmospheric temperature is high [2]. As a NO 2 reservoir species, it reduces NO 2 concentrations near the emission sources but releases NO 2 in regions remote from fresh emission sources [3]. It is, hence, concerning that PAN can affect NO x abundance and, ultimately, influence tropospheric ozone formation on local and regional scales.PAN is formed from the reaction of NO 2 and peroxy acetyl (PA) radical which is produced through photolysis and oxidation of a small number of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) (e.g., acetaldehyde (CH 3 CHO), acetone, methacrolein (MACR), methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), methyl ethyl ketone, and methylglyoxal (MGLY)) initiated by OH, NO 3 , and O 3 . Therefore, the abundances of aforementioned OVOCs will directly impact PAN levels in the atmosphere. Since PAN was first discovered in photochemical smog in Los Angeles in the 1950s, numerous studies have investigated the distribution and source contributions of PAN through field measurements and model simulations [3][4][5][6]. The characterization includes the abundance of PAN, the relationship with its precursors, and the contributions of regional transport i...

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus evolved, and we therefore aimed to provide an insight into which genetic variants were enriched, and how they spread in Sweden. Methods: We analyzed 348 Swedish SARS-CoV-2 sequences freely available from GISAID obtained from 7 February 2020 until 14 May 2020. Results: We identified 14 variant sites ≥5% frequency in the population. Among those sites, the D936Y substitution in the viral Spike protein was under positive selection. The variant sites can distinguish 11 mutational profiles in Sweden. Nine of the profiles appeared in Stockholm in March 2020. Mutational profiles 3 (B.1.1) and 6 (B.1), which contain the D936Y mutation, became the predominant profiles over time, spreading from Stockholm to other Swedish regions during April and the beginning of May. Furthermore, Bayesian phylogenetic analysis indicated that SARS-CoV-2 could have emerged in Sweden on 27 December 2019, and community transmission started on February 1st with an evolutionary rate of 1.5425 × 10−3 substitutions per year. Conclusions: Our study provides novel knowledge on the spatio-temporal dynamics of Swedish SARS-CoV-2 variants during the early pandemic. Characterization of these viral variants can provide precious insights on viral pathogenesis and can be valuable for diagnostic and drug development approaches.

Influenza‐like illness (ILI) varies in intensity year by year, generally keeping a stable pattern except for great changes of its epidemic pattern. Of the most impacting factors, urbanization has been suggested as shaping the intensity of influenza epidemics. Besides, growing evidence indicates the nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 offer great advantages in controlling infectious diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of urbanization and NPIs on the dynamic of ILI in Tongzhou, Beijing, during January 2013 to March 2021. ILI epidemiological surveillance data in Tongzhou district were obtained from Beijing Influenza Surveillance Network and separated into three periods of urbanization and four intervals of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Standardized average incidence rates of ILI in each separate stages were calculated and compared by using Wilson method and time series model of seasonal ARIMA. Influenza seasonal outbreaks showed similar epidemic size and intensity before urbanization during 2013–2016. Increased ILI activity was found during the process of Tongzhou's urbanization during 2017–2019, with the rate difference of 2.48 (95% confidence interva [CI]: 2.44, 2.52) and the rate ratio of 1.75 (95% CI: 1.74, 1.76) of ILI incidence between preurbanization and urbanization periods. ILI activity abruptly decreased from the beginning of 2020 and kept at the bottom level almost in every epidemic interval. The top decrease in ILI activity by NPIs was shown in 5–14 years group in 2020–2021 influenza season, as 92.2% (95% CI: 78.3%, 95.2%). The results indicated that both urbanization and NPIs interrupted the epidemic pattern of ILI. We should pay more attention to public health when facing increasing population density, human contact, population mobility, and migration in the process of urbanization. NPIs and influenza vaccination should be implemented as necessary measures to protect people from common infectious diseases like ILI.

This study evaluates 32 climate models from CMIP5 compared with a daily gridded observation dataset of extreme precipitation indices including total extreme precipitation (R95p), maximum consecutive five days of precipitation (RX5day) and wet days larger than 10 mm of precipitation (R10mm) over Northern China during the historical period (1986–2005). Results show the majority models have good performance on spatial distribution but overestimate the amplitude of precipitation over Northern China. Most models can also capture interannual variation of R95p and RX5d, but with poor simulations on R10mm. Considering both spatial and temporal factors, the best multi-model ensemble (Group 1) has been selected and improved by 42%, 34%, and 37% for R95p, RX5d, and R10mm, respectively. Projection of extreme precipitation indicates that the fastest-rising region is in Northwest China due to the enhanced rainfall intensity. However, the uncertainty analysis shows the increase of extreme rainfall over Northwest China has a low confidence level. The projection of increasing extreme rainfall over Northeast China from Group 1 due to the longer extreme rainfall days is more credible. The weak subtropical high and southwest winds from Arabian Sea lead to the low wet biases from Group 1 and the cyclonic anomalies over Northeast China, which result in more extreme precipitation.