Role of atmospheric circulations in haze pollution in December 2016

Yin, Zhicong; Wang, Huijun

doi:10.5194/acp-17-11673-2017

Cited by 106 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…During the high air pollution days, the contours show a small ridge in the vicinity of the red positive cluster (Figure 3d), and the ridge in Russia disappears. Previous studies also found that the anticyclonic circulations have significant effects on the air quality in China Miao et al, 2017;Zhu et al, 2018) and that the Siberian high leads to reduced air pollution in North China Yin & Wang, 2017); our results are consistent with these studies. The U.S. networks exhibit similar results.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Significant Impact of Rossby Waves on Air Pollution Detected by Network Analysis

Zhang

Fan

Chen

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Air pollution fluctuations have been found to strongly depend on the weather dynamics. Here we identify the significant atmospheric processes that affect the local daily variability of air pollution. We develop a multilayered network analysis to detect the interlinks between the 500‐hPa geopotential height and surface air pollution in both China and the United States. We find that Rossby waves significantly affect air pollution fluctuations through the development of cyclone and anticyclone systems and further affect the local stability of the air and the winds. Some of these systems are remote (∼3,000 km) and lead to air pollution 1–2 days later. Thus, the impact of Rossby waves on human life is greater than previously believed. The rapid warming of the Arctic could slow down Rossby waves, thus increasing human health risks. Our method can help to determine the risk assessment of such extreme events and can improve potential predictability.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Significant Impact of Rossby Waves on Air Pollution Detected by Network Analysis

Zhang

Fan

Chen

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Air pollution is a particularly acute problem, as it affects the daily life of more than two-thirds of China's entire population (Liu andDiamond 2005, Zhang 2017). Winter haze has been choking citizens across major cities, such as the capital (Beijing), which has culminated during haze episodes in the winters of 2013, 2015 and 2016 (Zhang et al 2014, Zhu et al 2016, Yin and Wang 2017, Li et al 2018a. Severe haze leads to a sharp decrease in visibility, causing traffic hazards and disruptions, and, hence, affecting economic activities (Huang et al 2014, Chen and Wang 2015, Li et al 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diminishing clear winter skies in Beijing towards a possible future

Pei

Zeng

2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Severe haze during the winter season has been troubling the citizens of Beijing over the past few decades, and the trend seems to be continuing. However, occasionally such as the winter of 2017 (2017/12-2018/2), one would be amazed to see unusually few hazy days throughout the winter that brings memories of a long past. It is controversial to say whether such a nowadays-rare event is a result of policy-driven emission cuts or an opportunity brought about by natural climate variability. This paper investigates the probability of such anomalous atmospheric circulation events in winter from a climate perspective. Based on updated observations, only three winters during the past 38 years are found to be similar to that of 2017. These events were accompanied by a strong Siberian High to the north and cold anomalies in the mid-lower troposphere in association with a strong East Asian Trough, which favored the strengthening of northwesterly winds and effective ventilation. The occurrences of such favorable winter circulation anomalies are found to have decreased by about 50% from the 1st to the 2nd half of the 20th century. A further 60% [11.4%, 89.3%] reduction between 1951-2000 and 2050-2099 is projected by climate models under the IPCC's Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 scenario. Without serious cuts in pollution emissions, winters are projected to be dismal for the 20 million people of Beijing to a possible future under global warming. OPEN ACCESS RECEIVED

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“…Recently, the role of underlying climatic factors in modulating regional weather conditions in association with severe haze events has been reported and is expected to have influenced the change in the severity of haze (e.g., Niu et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2015;Cai et al, 2017;Yin and Wang, 2017;Zou et al, 2017). These climatic factors include a weakened EAWM system and the associated decreased nearsurface wind speeds (Niu et al, 2010) and increased relative humidity in the region , reduced Arctic sea ice and anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) in the subtropical western Pacific .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The observed negative trend of the EAWM during the past few decades has caused significantly reduced wind speeds over North China and subdued atmospheric transport of pollutants, and hence it has contributed to the increasing number of haze days (Niu et al, 2010;Huang et al, 2012;Li et al, 2016). The latest studies have analyzed the possible influences of anthropogenic climate change on haze occurrences (e.g., Cai et al, 2017;Yin and Wang, 2017;Zou et al, 2017). Based on historical and future climate simulations, Cai et al (2017) suggested that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and the associated changes would increase the occurrences of weather conditions conducive to Beijing winter severe haze.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing persistent haze in Beijing: potential impacts of weakening East Asian winter monsoons associated with northwestern Pacific sea surface temperature trends

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Over the past decades, Beijing, the capital city of China, has encountered increasingly frequent persistent haze events (PHE). While the increased pollutant emissions are considered as the most important reason, changes in regional atmospheric circulations associated with large-scale climate warming also play a role. In this study, we find a significant positive trend of PHE in Beijing for the winters from 1980 to 2016 based on updated daily observations. This trend is closely related to an increasing frequency of extreme anomalous southerly episodes in North China, a weakened East Asian trough in the mid-troposphere and a northward shift of the East Asian jet stream in the upper troposphere. These conditions together depict a weakened East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) system, which is then found to be associated with an anomalous warm, high-pressure system in the middle-lower troposphere over the northwestern Pacific. A practical EAWM index is defined as the seasonal meridional wind anomaly at 850 hPa in winter over North China. Over the period 1900-2016, this EAWM index is positively correlated with the sea surface temperature anomalies over the northwestern Pacific, which indicates a wavy positive trend, with an enhanced positive phase since the mid-1980s. Our results suggest an observation-based mechanism linking the increase in PHE in Beijing with large-scale climatic warming through changes in the typical regional atmospheric circulation.

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Role of atmospheric circulations in haze pollution in December 2016

Cited by 106 publications

References 20 publications

Significant Impact of Rossby Waves on Air Pollution Detected by Network Analysis

Significant Impact of Rossby Waves on Air Pollution Detected by Network Analysis

Diminishing clear winter skies in Beijing towards a possible future

Increasing persistent haze in Beijing: potential impacts of weakening East Asian winter monsoons associated with northwestern Pacific sea surface temperature trends

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