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Differences in Meteorological Conditions between Days with Persistent and Non-Persistent Pollution in Beijing, China

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Abstract

We compared the regional synoptic patterns and local meteorological conditions during persistent and non-persistent pollution events in Beijing using US NCEP–Department of Energy reanalysis outputs and observations from meteorological stations. The analysis focused on the impacts of high-frequency (period < 90 days) variations in meteorological conditions on persistent pollution events (those lasting for at least 3 days). Persistent pollution events tended to occur in association with slow-moving weather systems producing stagnant weather conditions, whereas rapidly moving weather systems caused a dramatic change in the local weather conditions so that the pollution event was short-lived. Although Beijing was under the influence of anomalous southerly winds in all four seasons during pollution events, notable differences were identified in the regional patterns of sea-level pressure and local anomalies in relative humidity among persistent pollution events in different seasons. A region of lower pressure was present to the north of Beijing in spring, fall, and winter, whereas regions of lower and higher pressures were observed northwest and southeast of Beijing, respectively, in summer. The relative humidity near Beijing was higher in fall and winter, but lower in spring and summer. These differences may explain the seasonal dependence of the relationship between air pollution and the local meteorological variables. Our analysis showed that the temperature inversion in the lower troposphere played an important part in the occurrence of air pollution under stagnant weather conditions. Some results from this study are based on a limited number of events and thus require validation using more data.

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Acknowledgments

We appreciate the comments of the two anonymous reviewers. The NCEP–DOE reanalysis 2 data were obtained from ftp://ftp.cdc.noaa.gov/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Monsoon System Research, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Ting You & Renguang Wu

  2. College of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, 610225, China

    Ting You

  3. State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Renguang Wu & Gang Huang

  4. Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266237, China

    Gang Huang

  5. Joint Center for Global Change Studies, Beijing, 100875, China

    Gang Huang

  6. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Gang Huang

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  1. Ting You
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  2. Renguang Wu
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  3. Gang Huang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renguang Wu.

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41475081, 41530425, 41425019, and 41661144016) and State Oceanic Administration Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean (201505013).

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You, T., Wu, R. & Huang, G. Differences in Meteorological Conditions between Days with Persistent and Non-Persistent Pollution in Beijing, China. J Meteorol Res 32, 81–98 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-018-7086-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-018-7086-x

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