Abstract. Ozone pollution in China is influenced by meteorological processes on
multiple scales. Using regression analysis and weather classification, we
statistically assess the impacts of local and synoptic meteorology on daily
variability in surface ozone in eastern China in summer during 2013–2018. In
this period, summertime surface ozone in eastern China (20–42∘ N, 110–130∘ E) is among the highest in the world, with regional means of 73.1
and 114.7 µg m−3, respectively, in daily mean and daily maximum
8 h average. Through developing a multiple linear regression (MLR) model
driven by local and synoptic weather factors, we establish a quantitative
linkage between the daily mean ozone concentrations and meteorology in the
study region. The meteorology described by the MLR can explain
∼43 % of the daily variability in summertime surface ozone
across eastern China. Among local meteorological factors, relative humidity
is the most influential variable in the center and south of eastern China,
including the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions, while
temperature is the most influential variable in the north, covering the
Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. To further examine the synoptic influence of
weather conditions explicitly, six predominant synoptic weather patterns
(SWPs) over eastern China in summer are objectively identified using the
self-organizing map clustering technique. The six SWPs are formed under the
integral influence of the East Asian summer monsoon, the western Pacific
subtropical high, the Meiyu front, and the typhoon activities. On average,
regionally, two SWPs bring about positive ozone anomalies (1.1 µg m−3
or 1.7 % and 2.7 µg m−3 or 4.6 %), when eastern China is under a weak cyclone system or under the prevailing
southerly wind. The impact of SWPs on the daily variability in surface ozone
varies largely within eastern China. The maximum impact can reach ±8 µg m−3 or ±16 % of the daily mean in some areas. A combination of the regression and the clustering approaches suggests a strong performance of the MLR in predicting the sensitivity of surface ozone in eastern China to the variation of synoptic weather. Our assessment highlights the importance of meteorology in modulating ozone pollution over China.
Supplementary material to "Local and synoptic meteorological influences on daily variability of
summertime surface ozone in eastern China"
