Existence of typical winter atmospheric circulation patterns leading to high PM2.5 concentration days in East Asia

Abstract

Understanding the atmospheric circulation patterns responsible for severe air pollution events in East Asia is important because East Asia is one of the most polluted regions in the world, particularly during the boreal winter (December-January-February). Here, by conducting GEOS-Chem simulation with fixed anthropogenic emission sources, we found that there exist three typical atmospheric circulation patterns conducive to leading to high concentrations of particulate matter with a diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) in East Asia. These atmospheric circulation patterns are characterized by weakened horizontal winds, which allows PM_2.5 to accumulate, and by enhanced relative humidity, which can favor secondary formation of PM_2.5. The occurrence of these atmospheric circulation patterns is associated with increased sea ice cover over the Barents Sea and heavy precipitation over the tropical western Indian Ocean. The existence of these atmospheric circulation patterns among typical atmospheric circulation patterns indicates high PM_2.5 days in East Asia are unavoidable given current level of anthropogenic emissions in the region. This conclusion indicates that sustained efforts to reduce anthropogenic emission sources in East Asia should be warranted to avoid high PM_2.5 days.