Abstract. Severe high ozone (O 3 ) episodes usually have close relations to synoptic systems. A regional continuous O 3 pollution episode was detected over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China during 7-12 August 2013, in which the O 3 concentrations in more than half of the cities exceeded the national air quality standard. The maximum hourly concentration of O 3 reached 167.1 ppb. By means of the observational analysis and the numerical simulation, the characteristics and the essential impact factors of the typical regional O 3 pollution are comprehensively investigated. The observational analysis shows that the atmospheric subsidence dominated by the western Pacific subtropical high plays a crucial role in the formation of high-level O 3 . The favorable weather conditions, such as extremely high temperature, low relative humidity and weak wind speed, caused by the abnormally strong subtropical high are responsible for the trapping and the chemical production of O 3 in the boundary layer. In addition, when the YRD cities are at the front of Typhoon Utor, the periphery circulation of typhoon system can enhance the downward airflows and cause worse air quality. However, when the typhoon system weakens the subtropical high, the prevailing southeasterly surface wind leads to the mitigation of the O 3 pollution. The integrated process rate (IPR) analysis incorporated in the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is applied to further illustrate the combined influence of subtropical high and typhoon system in this O 3 episode. The results show that the vertical diffusion (VDIF) and the gas-phase chemistry (CHEM) are two major contributors to O 3 formation. During the episode, the contributions of VDIF and CHEM to O 3 maintain the high values over the YRD region. On 10-12 August, the cities close to the sea are apparently affected by the typhoon system, with the contribution of VDIF increasing to 28.45 ppb h −1 in Shanghai and 19.76 ppb h −1 in Hangzhou. In contrast, the cities far away from the sea can hardly be affected by the periphery circulation of typhoon system. When the typhoon system significantly weakens the subtropical high, the contribution values of all individual processes decrease to a low level in all YRD cities. These results provide an insight for the O 3 pollution synthetically impacted by the western Pacific subtropical high and the tropical cyclone system.

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Severe haze pollution frequently occurred in China during winter. Mechanisms for the formation and evolution of high PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less) episodes, however, remain poorly understood. We characterize two extreme haze episodes in the Yangtze River Delta region of China from 1 to 9 December (Episode I) and 19 to 24 December (Episode II) in 2016 using comprehensive measurements and model analyses. The aqueous sulfur dioxide (SO2) oxidation catalyzed by mineral ions and the heterogeneous uptakes of SO2, sulfuric acid (H2SO4), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen trioxide (NO3), nitrogen pentoxide (N2O5), and nitric acid (HNO3) on mineral aerosols are included in the model to better represent the formation of sulfate‐nitrate‐ammonium. The optimized mechanisms substantially improve the simulations of PM2.5 composition, particularly for sulfate and nitrate. The two episodes show different synoptic conditions and evolution stages, with gradual PM2.5 increase under stagnant weather conditions in Episode I (Stage I: Slow Increase Stage, Stage II: Rapid Formation Stage, and Stage III: Dissipation Stage) and with explosive PM2.5 increase mostly associated with cross‐border transport from North China in Episode II (Stage I′: Clean Stage, Stage II′: Fast Transport Stage, and Stage III′: Clear Stage). The concentrations of sulfate‐nitrate‐ammonium increased evidently and became the key components of PM2.5 during haze episodes. The heterogeneous conversion from SO2 to sulfate on mineral aerosols is the main reason for sulfate increase, accounting for more than 50% of sulfate production. This study provides a better understanding of the causes for winter haze in China.

Tropospheric ozone plays a key role in regional and global atmospheric and climate systems. In East Asia, ozone can be affected both in concentration level and spatial pattern by typical monsoon climate. This paper uses three different indices to identify the strength of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and explores the possible impact of EASM intensity on the ozone pattern through synthetic and process analysis. The difference in ozone between three strong and three weak monsoon years was analyzed using the simulations from regional climate model RegCM4‐Chem. It was found that EASM intensity can significantly influence the spatial distribution of ozone in the lower troposphere. When EASM is strong, ozone in the eastern part of China (28°N ‐ 42° N) is reduced, but the inverse is detected in the north and south. The surface ozone difference ranges from −7 to 7 ppbv during the 3 months (June to August) of the EASM, with the most obvious difference in August. Difference of the 3 months' average ozone ranges from −3.5 to 4 ppbv. Process analysis shows that the uppermost factor controlling ozone level during summer monsoon seasons is the chemistry process. Interannual variability of EASM can impact the spatial distribution of ozone through wind in the lower troposphere, cloud cover, and downward shortwave radiation, which affect the transport and chemical formation of ozone. The phenomenon should be addressed when considering the interaction between ozone and the climate in East Asia region.