Abstract:
In recent years, the concentration of PM2.5 in China has significantly decreased, but there are notable temporal and regional differences in the changes of different PM2.5 components. Current research on PM2.5 component changes, based on numerical models and online observations, mostly focuses on single site and representative periods, lacking high spatiotemporal resolution studies on regional and interannual variations of PM2.5 components. This study, based on a multivariate tracer model (MTEA) combined with grid data from air quality monitoring, establishes a dataset of primary PM2.5 (PPM) and secondary PM2.5 (SPM) concentrations for 367 cities in China from 2015 to 2023. The results show that from 2015 to 2023, the concentrations of PPM and SPM in China decreased from 15.85 μg m-3 and 25.86 μg m-3 to 10.28 μg m-3 and 15.42 μg m-3, respectively, with a reduction of 35.02% and 40.37% over nine years. The interannual trends of PPM and SPM from 2015 to 2023 showed different characteristics before and after 2021, with a rapid decline from 2015 to 2021 (?0.91 μg m-3 yr-1 and ?1.70 μg m-3 yr-1), and a slowdown in the decline of PPM after 2021 (?0.14 μg m-3 yr-1), while SPM even showed a slight increase (+0.10 μg m-3 yr-1). The overall trend of SPM% was similar to that of SPM, decreasing at a rate of ?0.38% yr-1 before 2021 and increasing at a rate of +0.38% yr-1 after 2021. In terms of different regions, the highest concentrations of PPM and SPM were found in North and Central China, corresponding to stronger anthropogenic emissions; however, the SPM% was higher in South and Southwest China (66.67%~68.66%), which is related to the stronger atmospheric oxidation capacity in the south. The trends of PPM and SPM concentrations in most regions were consistent with the national trend, except for the Southwest region where SPM and SPM% continued to decline significantly after 2021. This study can offer scientific and data support for future particulate matter pollution control in China.