Abstract:
By using an online coupled regional atmospheric chemistry/aerosol-climate model, this paper investigated aerosol distribution, aerosol direct and indirect radiative effects and their impacts on meteorology. Model results revealed that during the Clean Air Plan from 2013 to 2019, regional mean near-surface PM
2.5 concentration decreased by 29%, aerosol direct radiative effect (DRE) decreased by 24%, which was mainly attributed to reduction in anthropogenic emissions, while aerosol indirect radiative effect (IRE) increased by 12%, which was associated with an increase in cloud amount in southern China, resulting in a decrease in aerosol total radiative effect (TRE) by 10% over east China. Compared with winter 2013, surface air temperature in 2019 increased in most areas of northern China, with the maximum increase exceeding 1.0°C in Beijing and Tianjin,which was mainly attributed to the weakening of aerosol cooling effect due to the Clean Air Plan, while in parts of southern China, air temperature in 2019 decreased by more than 0.7°C with precipitation decrease as well, which was due to stronger IRE(TRE) than those in 2013. This study reveals potential climatic effects by the Clean Air Plan, which has significantly improved air quality, and highlights the necessity to design a win-win health-climate policy to deal with environment and climate change.