Long-term trend of ozone pollution in China during 2014–2020: distinct seasonal and spatial characteristics and ozone sensitivity

Abstract

In the past decade, ozone (O3) pollution has become a severe environmental problem in China's major cities. Here, based on available observational records, we investigated the long-term trend of O3 pollution in China during 2014–2020. The O3 concentrations were slightly higher in urban areas than in non-urban areas. During these 7 years, the highest O3 concentrations primarily occurred during summer in northern China, and during autumn or spring in southern China. Although O3 precursors, including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO), continuously decreased, O3 concentrations generally increased throughout the 7 years with a slower increasing rate after 2017. The long-term trend of O3 concentrations differed across seasons, especially from 2019 to 2020, when O3 concentrations decreased in summer and increased in winter. To analyse the causes of this observed trend, a photochemical box model was used to investigate the change in the O3 sensitivity regime in two representative cities – Beijing and Shanghai. Our model simulations suggest that the summertime O3 sensitivity regime in urban areas of China has changed from a VOC-limited regime to a transition regime during 2014–2020. By 2020, the urban photochemistry was in a transition regime in summer but in a VOC-limited regime in winter. This study helps to understand the distinct trends of O3 in China and provides insights into efficient future O3 control strategies in different regions and seasons.