Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) trends in China, 2013–2018: separating contributions from anthropogenic emissions and meteorology

Abstract. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a severe air pollution problem in China. Observations of PM2.5 have been available since 2013 from a large network operated by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC). The data show a general 30 %–50 % decrease in annual mean PM2.5 across China over the 2013–2018 period, averaging at −5.2 µg m−3 a−1. Trends in the five megacity cluster regions targeted by the government for air quality control are -9.3±1.8 µg m−3 a−1 (±95 % confidence interval) for Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, -6.1±1.1 µg m−3 a−1 for the Yangtze River Delta, -2.7±0.8 µg m−3 a−1 for the Pearl River Delta, -6.7±1.3 µg m−3 a−1 for the Sichuan Basin, and -6.5±2.5 µg m−3 a−1 for the Fenwei…

• HU
  Harvard University
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 41830965, 91744209, 91744311
• TU
  Tsinghua University
• CS
  China Scholarship Council

  Award: 201708320314
• NU
  Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology