Emission Sector Impacts on Air Quality and Public Health in China From 2010 to 2020

“…Among these variations in anthropogenic emissions in China, a decline in PM 2.5 concentration has been reported in China since 2013 (e.g. Zheng et al 2017, Zhai et al 2019, Zhang et al 2019a, Conibear et al 2022. Because transboundary aerosol pollution in East Asia is a concern in the downwind region of Japan and the PM 2.5 concentration shows a longitudinal gradient from high concentrations in the west to low concentrations in the east (Itahashi et al 2017, Uno et al 2020, Chatani et al 2020, it is important to understand conditions including the upwind region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatic improvement of aerosol pollution status over the East Asian ocean: from the establishment of Japanese environmental quality standard for PM_2.5 in 2009 to its achievement in 2021

Itahashi,

Uno

2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The severe aerosol pollution in East Asia has been a focus of much research. In Japan, the environmental quality standard (EQS) for PM2.5 was established in 2009 (daily average, 35 μg/m3; annual average, 15 μg/m3), and its achievement rate was below 50% during the early 2010s. Then, the PM2.5 concentration gradually decreased, the achievement rate improved, and the EQS for PM2.5 was finally achieved (100%) in fiscal year (FY) 2021. Because transboundary aerosol pollution is an important factor in Japanese air quality, here we analyzed the long-term dataset of the satellite-measured fine-mode aerosol optical depth (AODf) over the East Asian ocean to reveal the changes in the transboundary aerosol over East Asia. Overall, a decrease in AODf was seen over the entire East Asian ocean during the period analyzed. A gradual declining trend in AODf was measured (−4% to −5%/year over the adjacent ocean around Japan) and corresponded well to the trend in PM2.5 concentration observed in Japan (−5.3%/year) during FY2010–FY2021. Due to the domestic contribution in Japan, the negative trend was slightly greater for Japanese PM2.5 concentration than for AODf over the adjacent ocean around Japan, and we concluded that the main reason for the dramatic air quality improvement in PM2.5 in Japan was driven by the improvement of transboundary aerosol pollution over East Asia. In addition, the 12-year analysis period (FY2010 to FY2021) was divided into three parts: stagnation (FY2010 to FY2014), in which PM2.5 and AODf remained the same as they were in FY2010; improvement (FY2015 to FY2018), in which PM2.5 and AODf declined dramatically; and achievement (FY2019 to FY2021), in which PM2.5 and AODf declined further.

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“…Emissions from residential combustion of coal or solid biofuel are a major contributor to regional ambient PM 2.5 ‐attributable premature mortality, particularly across South and East Asia (Reddington et al., 2019) and West Africa (Gordon et al., 2023). Over recent decades, emission control efforts have delivered notable reductions in PM 2.5 exposure across some regions, such as North America (Butt et al., 2017) and Europe (Turnock et al., 2016), and more recently in China (e.g., Conibear, Reddington, Silver, Chen, Arnold, et al., 2022; Silver, Conibear, et al., 2020; Silver, He, et al., 2020). Despite the reductions across these regions, ambient PM 2.5 exposure has been increasing globally, with increases mainly occurring in countries with a low to middle socioeconomic status for example, countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East (GBD 2019 Risk Factor Collaborators, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inequalities in Air Pollution Exposure and Attributable Mortality in a Low Carbon Future

Reddington,

Turnock,

Conibear

et al. 2023

Earth's Future

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Understanding the costs and benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation options is crucial to justify and prioritize future decarbonization pathways to achieve net zero. Here, we quantified the co‐benefits of decarbonization for air quality and public health under scenarios that aim to limit end‐of‐century warming to 2°C and 1.5°C. We estimated the mortality burden attributable to ambient PM2.5 exposure using population attributable fractions of relative risk, incorporating projected changes in population demographics. We found that implementation of decarbonization scenarios could produce substantial global reductions in population exposure to PM2.5 pollution and associated premature mortality, with maximum health benefits achieved in Asia around mid‐century. The stringent 1.5ºC‐compliant decarbonization scenario (SSP1‐1.9) could reduce the PM2.5‐attributable mortality burden by 29% in 2050 relative to a middle‐of‐the‐road scenario (SSP2‐4.5), averting around 2.9 M annual deaths worldwide. While all income groups were found to benefit from improved air quality through a combination of decarbonization and air pollution controls, the smallest health benefits are experienced by the low‐income population. The disparity in PM2.5 exposure across income groups is projected to reduce by 2100, but a 30% disparity between high‐ and low‐income groups persists even in the strongest mitigation scenario. Further, without additional and targeted air quality measures, low‐ and lower‐middle‐income populations (predominantly in Africa and Asia) will continue to experience PM2.5 exposures that are over three times the World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline.

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Emission Sector Impacts on Air Quality and Public Health in China From 2010 to 2020

Cited by 11 publications

References 94 publications

Sensitivity of Air Pollution Exposure and Disease Burden to Emission Changes in China Using Machine Learning Emulation

Sensitivity of Air Pollution Exposure and Disease Burden to Emission Changes in China Using Machine Learning Emulation

Dramatic improvement of aerosol pollution status over the East Asian ocean: from the establishment of Japanese environmental quality standard for PM_2.5 in 2009 to its achievement in 2021

Inequalities in Air Pollution Exposure and Attributable Mortality in a Low Carbon Future

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Emission Sector Impacts on Air Quality and Public Health in China From 2010 to 2020

Cited by 11 publications

References 94 publications

Sensitivity of Air Pollution Exposure and Disease Burden to Emission Changes in China Using Machine Learning Emulation

Sensitivity of Air Pollution Exposure and Disease Burden to Emission Changes in China Using Machine Learning Emulation

Dramatic improvement of aerosol pollution status over the East Asian ocean: from the establishment of Japanese environmental quality standard for PM2.5 in 2009 to its achievement in 2021

Inequalities in Air Pollution Exposure and Attributable Mortality in a Low Carbon Future

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Dramatic improvement of aerosol pollution status over the East Asian ocean: from the establishment of Japanese environmental quality standard for PM_2.5 in 2009 to its achievement in 2021