Abstract. The Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese
Megacity (APHH-Beijing) programme is an international collaborative project
focusing on understanding the sources, processes and health effects of air
pollution in the Beijing megacity. APHH-Beijing brings together leading China
and UK research groups, state-of-the-art infrastructure and air quality
models to work on four research themes: (1) sources and emissions of air
pollutants; (2) atmospheric processes affecting urban air pollution; (3) air
pollution exposure and health impacts; and (4) interventions and solutions.
Themes 1 and 2 are closely integrated and support Theme 3, while Themes 1–3
provide scientific data for Theme 4 to develop cost-effective air pollution
mitigation solutions. This paper provides an introduction to (i) the
rationale of the APHH-Beijing programme and (ii) the measurement and
modelling activities performed as part of it. In addition, this paper
introduces the meteorology and air quality conditions during two joint
intensive field campaigns – a core integration activity in APHH-Beijing. The
coordinated campaigns provided observations of the atmospheric chemistry and
physics at two sites: (i) the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in central
Beijing and (ii) Pinggu in rural Beijing during 10 November–10 December 2016 (winter) and 21 May–22 June 2017 (summer). The campaigns were
complemented by numerical modelling and automatic air quality and low-cost
sensor observations in the Beijing megacity. In summary, the paper provides
background information on the APHH-Beijing programme and sets the scene for
more focused papers addressing specific aspects, processes and effects of
air pollution in Beijing.
<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> APHH-Beijing (Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity) is an international collaborative project to examine the emissions, processes and health effects of air pollution in Beijing. The four research themes of APHH-China are: (1) sources and emissions of urban atmospheric pollution; (2) processes affecting urban atmospheric pollution; (3) exposure science and impacts on health; and (4) interventions and solutions to reduce health impacts. Themes 1 and 2 are closely integrated and support Theme 3, while Themes 1&#8211;3 provide scientific data for Theme 4 on the development of cost-effective solutions. A key activity within APHH-Beijing was the two month-long intensive field campaigns at two sites: (i) central Beijing, and (ii) rural Pinggu. The coordinated campaigns provided observations of the atmospheric chemistry and physics in and around Beijing during November&#8211;December 2016 and May&#8211;June 2017. The campaigns were complemented by numerical air quality modelling and air quality and meteorology data at the 12 national monitoring stations in Beijing. This introduction paper provides an overview of (i) APHH-Beijing programme, (ii) the measurement and modelling activities performed as part of it in Beijing, and (iii) the air quality and meteorological conditions during the two field campaigns. The winter campaign was characterized by high PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution events whereas the summer experienced high ozone pollution events. Air quality was poor during the winter campaign, but less severe than in the same period in 2015 when there were a number of major pollution episodes. PM<sub>2.5</sub> levels were relatively low during the summer period, matching the cleanest periods over the previous five years. Synoptic scale meteorological analysis suggests that the greater stagnation and weak southerly circulation in November/December 2016 may have contributed to the poor air quality.</p>
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