Effects of meteorology and emission reduction measures on air pollution in Beijing during heating seasons

Cheng, Ning; Cheng, Bingfen; Li, Shanshan; Ning, Tingzhou

doi:10.1016/j.apr.2019.01.005

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…A series of measures were implemented to improve air quality in the city, such as “Action Plan on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution” ( Zhang et al, 2016 ), “Joint Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution” ( Wang and Zhao, 2018 ), “Coal to Electricity” and “Coal to Gas” projects ( Shuxue et al, 2020 ). The actions have been found to effectively reduce the PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations ( Barrington-Leigh et al, 2019 ; Cheng et al, 2019 ; de Foy et al, 2016b ; Wang et al, 2017b ; Zhang et al, 2018 ). Nevertheless, progress in clean energy development varies between urban and rural areas due to a variety of transportation and financial support factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competing PM2.5 and NO2 holiday effects in the Beijing area vary locally due to differences in residential coal burning and traffic patterns

Hua

Zhang

Foy

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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The holiday effect is a useful tool to estimate the impact on air pollution due to changes in human activities. In this study, we assessed the variations in concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) during the holidays in the heating season from 2014 to 2018 based on daily surface air quality monitoring measurements in Beijing. A Generalized Additive Model (GAM) is used to analyze pollutant concentrations for 34 sites by comprehensively accounting for annual, monthly, and weekly cycles as well as the nonlinear impacts of meteorological factors. A Saturday effect was found in the downtown area, with about 4% decrease in PM 2.5 and 3% decrease in NO 2 relative to weekdays. On Sundays, the PM 2.5 concentrations increased by about 5% whereas there were no clear changes for NO 2 . In contrast to the small effect of the weekend, there was a strong holiday effect throughout the region with average increases of about 22% in PM 2.5 and average reductions of about 11% in NO 2 concentrations. There was a clear geographical pattern in the strength of the holiday effect. In rural areas the increase in PM 2.5 is related to the proportion of coal and biomass consumption for household heating. In the suburban areas between the Fifth Ring Road and Sixth Ring Road there were larger reductions in NO 2 than downtown which might be due to decreased traffic as many people return to their hometown for the holidays. This study provides insights into the pattern of changes in air pollution due to human activities. By quantifying the changes, it also provides insights for improvements in air quality due to control policies implemented in Beijing during the heating season.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competing PM2.5 and NO2 holiday effects in the Beijing area vary locally due to differences in residential coal burning and traffic patterns

Hua

Zhang

Foy

et al. 2021

Science of The Total Environment

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show abstract

“…These values may be reached not only by the increase in emissions but also under given meteorological conditions. The main difference between the roles of emissions and meteorological conditions is that emissions may be controlled when inmission levels are exceeded [ 7 , 8 ], whereas meteorological conditions cannot be controlled. Consequently, air pollution control strategies should take into account meteorological variables, since these will shape any such strategies to a certain degree.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key Points in Air Pollution Meteorology

Pérez

García

Sánchez

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Although emissions have a direct impact on air pollution, meteorological processes may influence inmission concentration, with the only way to control air pollution being through the rates emitted. This paper presents the close relationship between air pollution and meteorology following the scales of atmospheric motion. In macroscale, this review focuses on the synoptic pattern, since certain weather types are related to pollution episodes, with the determination of these weather types being the key point of these studies. The contrasting contribution of cold fronts is also presented, whilst mathematical models are seen to increase the analysis possibilities of pollution transport. In mesoscale, land–sea and mountain–valley breezes may reinforce certain pollution episodes, and recirculation processes are sometimes favoured by orographic features. The urban heat island is also considered, since the formation of mesovortices determines the entry of pollutants into the city. At the microscale, the influence of the boundary layer height and its evolution are evaluated; in particular, the contribution of the low-level jet to pollutant transport and dispersion. Local meteorological variables have a major influence on calculations with the Gaussian plume model, whilst some eddies are features exclusive to urban environments. Finally, the impact of air pollution on meteorology is briefly commented on.

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“…Faced with such severe atmospheric suspended particulate matter pollution problems, cities across the country had adopted a series of related measures designed to combat the increase in the concentration of atmospheric suspended particulate matter, such as vehicle restriction, coal-fired control, enterprise shutdown, and governance of key polluting enterprises for rectification [11,12]. The results showed that the above measures had the best effect in alleviating the problem of atmospheric suspended particulate matter pollution during the control period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction of Atmospheric Suspended Particulate Matter Concentration and Influencing Factors of Green Space in Urban Forest Park

Gao

Liu

Wang

et al. 2020

Forests

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In the process of urbanization in China, the problem of atmospheric suspended particulate matter pollution is becoming increasingly serious. It has been impossible to completely rely on pollution source control measures to solve this problem for a long time due to the diversity and complexity of pollution sources. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore alternate solutions to significantly improve air quality through increasing the capacity of green space in cities as these locations can provide multiple ecosystem services. In this study, a three-dimensional classification system was created by utilizing Beijing’s urban forest as a study area. Considering the meteorological factors, change of month and time and the characteristics of the forest itself, the significance and difference of reducing the concentration of atmospheric suspended particulate matter by the forest with different vegetation structures were tested. The results showed that meteorological factors such as wind velocity, temperature, and relative humidity all had a very significant effect on the concentration of atmospheric suspended particulate matter in the conditions of this study. The concentration was highest in winter, followed by spring and autumn, and lowest in summer. The concentration in the morning was the lowest of the day, increasing in the noon and afternoon with time. It was the lowest in the closed single-layered mixed forest, and the highest in the open lawn green space. By comparing the forest with gradient areas of 0.5 ha and 3.0 ha, it was found that with the increase in the area, the green space did not necessarily show a better dust retention effect, and the vegetation structure type of the green space often had more important influence. There was a very significant correlation between vegetation structure and plant diversity (Shannon–Wiener Diversity Index and Simpson Diversity Index). Biodiversity could significantly support and strengthen urban forest ecological service functions that improve air quality. Increasing the plant species diversity could lead to lower particulate matter concentration. The research conclusions could provide theoretical and practical bases for how to select the combination of vegetation structure in the planning and design of urban forest oriented to improve air quality.

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Effects of meteorology and emission reduction measures on air pollution in Beijing during heating seasons

Cited by 27 publications

References 31 publications

Competing PM2.5 and NO2 holiday effects in the Beijing area vary locally due to differences in residential coal burning and traffic patterns

Competing PM2.5 and NO2 holiday effects in the Beijing area vary locally due to differences in residential coal burning and traffic patterns

Key Points in Air Pollution Meteorology

Reduction of Atmospheric Suspended Particulate Matter Concentration and Influencing Factors of Green Space in Urban Forest Park

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