High reduction of ozone and particulate matter during the 2016 G-20 summit in Hangzhou by forced emission controls of industry and traffic

Pengfei Li; Liqiang Wang; Ping Guo; Shaocai Yu; Khalid Mehmood; Si Wang; Weiping Liu; John H Seinfeld; Yang Zhang; David C Wong; Kiran Alapaty; Jon Pleim; Rohit Mathur

doi:10.1007/s10311-017-0642-2

High reduction of ozone and particulate matter during the 2016 G-20 summit in Hangzhou by forced emission controls of industry and traffic

Environ Chem Lett. 2017 Dec;15(4):709-715. doi: 10.1007/s10311-017-0642-2.

Authors

Pengfei Li¹, Liqiang Wang¹, Ping Guo¹, Shaocai Yu^{1

2}, Khalid Mehmood¹, Si Wang¹, Weiping Liu¹, John H Seinfeld², Yang Zhang³, David C Wong⁴, Kiran Alapaty⁵, Jon Pleim⁴, Rohit Mathur⁴

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Air Pollution and Health, Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China.
² Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
³ Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
⁴ Computational Exposure Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA, RTP, NC 27711, USA.
⁵ Systems Exposure Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA, RTP, NC 27711, USA.

Abstract

Many regions in China experience air pollution episodes because of the rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past decades. Here we analyzed the effect of emission controls implemented during the G-20 2016 Hangzhou summit on air quality. Emission controls included a forced closure of highly polluting industries, and limiting traffic and construction emissions in the cities and surroundings. Particles with aerodynamic diameter lower than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) and ozone (O₃) were measured. We also simulated air quality using a forecast system consisting of the two-way coupled Weather Research and Forecast and Community Multi-scale Air Quality (WRF-CMAQ) model. Results show PM_2.5 and ozone levels in Hangzhou during the G-20 Summit were considerably lower than previous to the G-20 Summit. The predicted concentrations of ozone were reduced by 25.4%, whereas the predicted concentrations of PM_2.5 were reduced by 56%.

Keywords: 2016 G-20 Summit; Air quality forecast; Effects of emission reductions; WRF-CMAQ.

Abstract

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