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. 2022 May 16;39(10):1623–1636. doi: 10.1007/s00376-022-1393-y

Observational Subseasonal Variability of the PM2.5 Concentration in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area during the January 2021 Sudden Stratospheric Warming

Qian Lu 1,2, Jian Rao 1,✉, Chunhua Shi 1, Dong Guo 1, Ji Wang 3, Zhuoqi Liang 1, Tian Wang 1
PMCID: PMC9109736  PMID: 35601397

Abstract

It is still not well understood if subseasonal variability of the local PM2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region is affected by the stratospheric state. Using PM2.5 observations and the ERA5 reanalysis, the evolution of the air quality in BTH during the January 2021 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is explored. The subseasonal variability of the PM2.5 concentration after the SSW onset is evidently enhanced. Stratospheric circumpolar easterly anomalies lasted for 53 days during the January–February 2021 SSW with two evident stratospheric pulses arriving at the ground. During the tropospheric wave weakening period and the intermittent period of dormant stratospheric pulses, the East Asian winter monsoon weakened, anomalous temperature inversion developed in the lower troposphere, anomalous surface southerlies prevailed, atmospheric moisture increased, and the boundary layer top height lowered, all of which favor the accumulation of pollutant particulates, leading to two periods of pollution processes in the BTH region. In the phase of strengthened East Asian winter monsoon around the very beginning of the SSW and another two periods when stratospheric pulses had reached the near surface, opposite-signed circulation patterns and meteorological conditions were observed, which helped to dilute and diffuse air pollutants in the BTH region. As a result, the air quality was excellent during the two periods when the stratospheric pulse had reached the near surface. The increased subseasonal variation of the regional pollutant particulates after the SSW onset highlights the important role of the stratosphere in the regional environment and provides implications for the environmental prediction.

Key words: sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), PM2.5, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), East Asian winter monsoon, boundary layer meteorological conditions

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42088101 and 42175069), and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFC1505602).

Data availability statement. The ECMWF provides the ERA5 reanalysis (https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/search?type=dataset). The PM2.5 observations in the BTH region are compiled by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (https://www.aqistudy.cn/historydata/).

Footnotes

Article Highlights

A sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) occurred in January–February 2021 with the circumpolar easterly anomalies persisting for nearly two months.

• The subseasonal variability of the PM2.5 after the sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) onset is evidently enhanced.

• The sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) does not mark the fast improvement of the regional air quality until stratospheric signals reach the near surface.

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Data Availability Statement

Data availability statement. The ECMWF provides the ERA5 reanalysis (https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/search?type=dataset). The PM2.5 observations in the BTH region are compiled by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (https://www.aqistudy.cn/historydata/).

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