Local and regional sources of fine and coarse particulate matter based on traffic and background monitoring

The aim of this study was to identify local and exogenous sources affecting particulate matter (PM) levels in five major cities of Northern Europe namely: London, Paris, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm. Besides local emissions, PM profile at urban and suburban areas of the European Union (EU) is also influenced by regional PM sources due to atmospheric transport, thus geographical city distribution is of a great importance. At each city, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, CO and O₃ air pollution data from two air pollution monitoring stations of the EU network were used. Different background characteristics of the selected two sampling sites at each city facilitated comparisons, providing a more exact analysis of PM sources. Four source apportionment methods: Pearson correlations among the levels of particulates and gaseous pollutants, characterisation of primal component analysis components, long-range transport analysis and extrapolation of PM size distribution ratios were applied. In general, fine (PM_2.5) and coarse (PM₁₀) particles were highly correlated, thus common sources are suggested. Combustion-originated gaseous pollutants (CO, NO₂, SO₂) were strongly associated to PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, primarily at areas severely affected by traffic. On the contrary, at background stations neighbouring important natural sources of particles or situated in suburban areas with rural background, natural emissions of aerosols were indicated. Series of daily PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratios showed that minimum fraction values were detected during warm periods, due to higher volumes of airborne biogenic PM coarse, mainly at stations with important natural sources of particles in their vicinity. Hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model was used, in order to extract 4-day backward air mass trajectories that arrived in the five cities which are under study during days with recorded PM₁₀ exceedances. At all five cities, a significantly large fraction of those trajectories were classified in short- and medium-range clusters, thus transportation of particulates along with slow moving air masses was identified. A finding that supports the assumption of long-range transport is that, at background stations, long-range transportation effects were stronger, in comparison to traffic stations, due to less local particle emissions. Short-range trajectories associated to PM transport in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Hamburg were mainly of a continental origin. All three cities were approached by slow moving air masses originated from Poland and the Czech Republic, whereas Copenhagen and Stockholm were also influenced by short-range trajectories from Germany and France and from Jutland Peninsula and Scandinavian Peninsula, respectively. London and Paris are located to the north-west part of Europe. Trajectories of short and medium length arrived to these two megacities mainly through France, Germany, UK and North Atlantic.     

Vertical behaviour and meteorological properties of air masses in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula (1997–2007)

Air masses are characterized by physical (temperature, humidity) and chemical (transported gases and aerosols) properties, being associated their arrival to different meteorological scenarios. The knowledge of the air masses over a region is fundamental as complementary information in several atmospheric studies, being the calculation of back-trajectory the most widely used tool whenever air masses are analyzed. A study of air masses has been carried out in southwestern Iberian Peninsula using 5-day kinematic back trajectories computed by the HYSPLIT model at three heights (500, 1,500 and 3,000 m) from 1997 to 2007. The main aims have been to characterize their vertical behaviour and their thermal and humidity properties. Thirteen trajectory clusters have been defined, showing the northerly and westerly clusters a high coupling degree. Seasonal daily variation of potential temperature and specific humidity has been analyzed, obtaining higher differences among clusters in the cold season.     

The fine and coarse particulate matter at four major Mediterranean cities: local and regional sources

Particulate air pollution is associated with adverse health effects to the population exposed. The aim of this paper is the identification of local and regional sources, affecting PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 levels in four large cities of southern Europe, namely: Lisbon, Madrid, Marseille, and Rome. Air pollution data from seven sampling sites of the European Union network were used. These stations were selected due to their ability of monitoring PM_2.5 concentrations and providing reliable series of data. Each station’s background was also taken into account. Pearson correlation coefficients and primal component analysis components were extracted separately for cold and warm periods in order to define the relationships among particle matters (PM_s) and gaseous pollutants (CO, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃) and evaluate the contributions of local sources. Possible seasonal variations of PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratio daily values were also used as markers of PM sources, influencing particulate size distribution. Particle emissions were primarily attributed to traffic and secondarily to natural sources. Minimum daily values of PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratio were observed during warm periods, particularly at suburban stations with rural background, due to dust resuspension and also due to the increase of biogenic coarse PM (pollen, dust, etc.). Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model trajectory model was used in order to compute the 4-day backward trajectories of the air masses that affected the four cities which are under study during days with recorded PM₁₀ exceedances, within a 5-year period (2003–2007), at 300, 750, and 1,500 m above ground level (AGL). The trajectories were then divided to clusters with a K-means analysis. In all four cities, the influence of slow-moving air masses was associated with a large fraction of PM₁₀ exceedances and with high average and maximum daily mean PM₁₀ concentrations, principally at the 300 m AGL analysis. As far the issue of the increased PM₁₀ concentrations, the results were weaker in Marseille and particularly in Rome, probably due to their greater distance from Northwest Africa, in comparison to Madrid and Lisbon. Dust intrusions from the Sahara desert and transportation of Mediterranean/Atlantic sea spray, were characterized as primary regional sources of exogenous PM₁₀ in all four cities. Continental trajectories from the industrialized northern Italy affected PM₁₀ levels particularly in Marseille and Rome, due to their more eastern geographical position.     

Determination of O3-, CO- and PM10-transport in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil through synoptic-scale analysis of back trajectories

Summary This study is aimed to qualitatively analyze the impact of remote sources on air pollution in the Metropolitan Area of S?o Paulo (MASP). Air-mass back trajectories from June to August of 1999 were calculated using a three-dimensional kinematic trajectory model and grouped into trajectory clusters. Correlations of individual trajectory clusters with O₃, CO and PM₁₀ concentrations were determined. In this model, trajectories were obtained using the means of the three wind velocity components (U, V and W). The three-dimensional wind field was derived from the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System, and downscaling was employed. Coarse and fine nested grids (64-km and 16-km horizontal resolution, respectively) were used. Every 12 h (at 00 and 12 UTC), a back-trajectory ensemble, using the 64-km grid, was calculated for five defined endpoints at intervals of 0.5° N, S, E and W of the MASP (λ = 23° 33′S, ϕ = 46° 45′W), that last endpoint being centered in the MASP. To analyze cluster trajectories, the five trajectory ensembles from each day were allocated into one of four clusters (northeast, southeast, southwest or northwest quadrant) based on the origin of the trajectory over 4 days. Days on which all five trajectories originated from the same quadrant were classified as “core” days. Core day concentrations of CO, O₃ and PM₁₀ during the study period were evaluated. The results show that, during the study period, air-mass back trajectories in the MASP originated from all four quadrants: northeast (32%), southeast (12%), southwest (19%) and northwest (37%). Our analysis of back-trajectory clusters in the MASP suggests a transport to ambient air of O₃ precursors and O₃ from the northeast region, which is associated with agricultural activities involving biomass burning.     

武汉市冬季灰霾期PM2.5中水溶性无机离子的特征

2018年1月,利用颗粒物采样器采集武汉市大气PM_2.5样品并进行水溶性无机离子（F^-、Cl^-、NO₃^-、SO₄^2-、Na⁺、NH₄⁺、K⁺、Mg²⁺、Ca²⁺）的分析.结果表明,NO₃^-、SO₄^2-、NH₄⁺是PM_2.5中最主要的3种水溶性无机离子,除Mg²⁺与Ca²⁺外,PM_2.5与WSⅡs （水溶性无机离子）之间的相关性显著,且移动源贡献占主导地位.阴阳离子平衡表明武汉市冬季灰霾期PM_2.5呈中性或弱酸性.通过混合单粒子拉格朗日综合轨迹模式模拟并采用分层聚类得出了4种主要的后向气流轨迹及相应的PM_2.5和水溶性离子浓度,结果表明区域传输对此次灰霾期影响较大.     

合肥市PM10 输送轨迹分类研究

应用聚类分析的方法,对2001—2005年合肥市逐日72 h后向轨迹按季节分类,结合PM10日均浓度观测资料,分析了不同输送轨迹与该地区PM10浓度之间的关系。结果表明:不同方向后向轨迹所对应的PM10平均浓度有明显不同;最高PM10平均浓度对应的后向轨迹在春、秋和冬季都是来自西北方向,它们与季节平均的相对距平分别为44%,20%和31%;夏季为东北方向,与季节平均的相对距平为20%;其次为本地轨迹,各季的相对距平分别为5%,16%,18%和17%。根据分析得出合肥地区6组易于出现高浓度PM10的后向轨迹及对应的天气形势,并简要分析了其特征。气溶胶的远程输送主要发生在自由大气层,区域输送主要发生在边界层内。合肥地区大气污染事件超过50%与远程输送有关。移动快的气团不一定对应低浓度的PM10。     

The statistical characters of PM10 in Belgrade area

The concentrations of air pollutants depend on meteorological conditions and pollutant emission level. From the statistical properties of air pollutants the number of times the daily average concentrations exceed the assigned air quality standard (AQS) can be estimated, as well as the level of reduction of particle matter emission sources required to meet the AQS. In this paper three statistical distributions (lognormal, Weibull and type V Pearson distribution) were used to fit the complete set of PM₁₀ data for the Belgrade urban area during a three-year period (2003–2005). The method of moments and the method of least squares were both used to estimate the parameters of the three theoretical distributions. The type V Pearson distribution represented the PM₁₀ daily average concentration most closely. However, the parent distributions sometimes diverged in predicting a high PM₁₀ concentration and therefore asymptotic distributions of extreme values were used to fit the high PM₁₀ concentration distribution more correctly. This method can successfully predict the return period and exceedances over a critical concentration in succeeding years. The estimated emission source reduction of PM₁₀ to meet the assigned standard varied from 53% to 63% in the Belgrade urban area. The results provide useful information for air quality management and could be used to examine the similarities and differences among air pollution types in diverse areas.     

Characterization of particulate matter in the Apulia Region (South of Italy): features and critical episodes

The chemical composition of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 samples collected during two seasonal monitoring campaigns at residential, urban and industrial Apulia Region- sites was investigated. Ionic fraction, carbonaceous compounds and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons were determined for all samples. High correlations among PM data collected in the investigated sites suggested the regional character of particulate matter. It was also confirmed by five days back trajectories analysis. Moreover, no significant seasonal trend in PM mass concentration was observed in the investigated sites. These results, relevant for the area under investigations, were not observed in the North of Italy and Europe and allow to conclude that PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 cannot be considered ‘good’ indicators for the evaluation of local anthropic contributions to air quality. On the contrary, the high levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons found in Taranto sampling sites suggested that PAHs can be a better indicator for this purpose. This result is also relevant in order to weigh the importance of industrial area and to suggest right policy control to decision makers.     

南京大气能见度变化规律及影响因子分析

利用累积百分率法、Ridit中值分析法、"非常好"能见度出现频率法以及平均能见度年际和季节变化法,对1980—2005年南京大气能见度年际变化趋势进行分析,发现1980—1984年能见度呈上升趋势,1985年以后则在波动中呈明显下降趋势。26 a中,日均大气能见度最小值为0.55 km,最大值为29.25 km,平均值为8.59 km。大气能见度具有明显的日变化和季节变化特征,一日之中,14时最好,08时最差;一年之中,冬季能见度最低,夏季最高。能见度与相对湿度呈负相关,与风速呈正相关,与温度和气压的相关性相对较小。PM10是影响南京地区大气能见度的首要污染物,通过对能见度与PM10平均质量浓度进行曲线拟合发现,二者呈负相关,复相关系数在秋季最高,夏季最低。由统计预报方程可知,空气污染和气象条件协同作用对能见度的影响在春季、秋季、冬季较为明显,夏季则相对较差。     

南京北郊2011年春季气溶胶粒子的散射特征

利用南京北郊2011年春季积分浊度仪的观测资料,结合PM_2.5质量浓度、能见度和常规气象资料,分析了南京北郊春季气溶胶散射系数的变化特征、散射系数与PM_2.5质量浓度和能见度的关系。结果表明,观测期间气溶胶散射系数平均值为311.5±173.3 Mm^-1,小时平均值出现频率最高的区间为100~200 Mm^-1;散射系数的日变化特征明显,总体为早晚大,中午及午后小。散射系数与PM_2.5质量浓度的变化趋势基本一致,但与能见度呈负相关关系。霾天气期间散射系数日平均值为700.5±341.4 Mm^-1,最高值达到近1 900 Mm^-1;结合地面观测资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和后向轨迹模式分析显示,霾期间气块主要来自南京南部和东南方向。     

Modeling the concentration of pollutants using the WRF-ARW atmospheric model and CHIMERE chemistry transport model

Described is a system for analyzing and forecasting the air quality in the central regions of Russia, During the operation of the system, the detailed meteorological information provided by the WRF-ARW model is used by the CHIMERE chemistry transport model for simulating the processes of transport, chemical transformation, and deposition of atmospheric minor constituents. Considered is the quality of retrieved and forecasted (with the lead time up to three days) concentrations of O₃, NO₂, NO, CO, and PM₁₀. The presented verification scores of pollutant concentrations demonstrate a relative success of the system. Demonstrated is a need in improving the data on the emissions of the air pollutants used for simulations. A procedure for the statistical correction of computed concentrations is described and verification scores of its results are given.     

Oscillation of Surface PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> Concentration Resulting from an Alternation of Easterly and Southerly Winds in Beijing: Mechanisms and Implications

We used simultaneous measurements of surface PM_2.5 concentration and vertical profiles of aerosol concentration, temperature, and humidity, together with regional air quality model simulations, to study an episode of aerosol pollution in Beijing from 15 to 19 November 2016. The potential effects of easterly and southerly winds on the surface concentrations and vertical profiles of the PM_2.5 pollution were investigated. Favorable easterly winds produced strong upward motion and were able to transport the PM_2.5 pollution at the surface to the upper levels of the atmosphere. The amount of surface PM_2.5 pollution transported by the easterly winds was determined by the strength and height of the upward motion produced by the easterly winds and the initial height of the upward wind. A greater amount of PM_2.5 pollution was transported to upper levels of the atmosphere by upward winds with a lower initial height. The pollutants were diluted by easterly winds from clean ocean air masses. The inversion layer was destroyed by the easterly winds and the surface pollutants and warm air masses were then lifted to the upper levels of the atmosphere, where they re-established a multi-layer inversion. This region of inversion was strengthened by the southerly winds, increasing the severity of pollution. A vortex was produced by southerly winds that led to the convergence of air along the Taihang Mountains. Pollutants were transported from southern–central Hebei Province to Beijing in the boundary layer. Warm advection associated with the southerly winds intensified the inversion produced by the easterly winds and a more stable boundary layer was formed. The layer with high PM_2.5 concentration became dee-per with persistent southerly winds of a certain depth. The polluted air masses then rose over the northern Taihang Mountains to the northern mountainous regions of Hebei Province.     

气流输送对北京大气污染物体积分数的影响

利用HYSPLIT后向轨迹模式和2004年8月—2007年12月NCEP再分析气象资料,计算每天15:00抵达北京地区10、100和500m高度上的后向气流轨迹.对整个研究时段、采暖季和非采暖季期间的后向气流轨迹分别进行聚类分析,得到这3个时段到达北京地区的主要后向气流轨迹聚类.其中整个研究时段的后向气流轨迹分成3个聚类,采暖季和非采暖季的后向气流轨迹都分成5个聚类.结合各段时间中国科学院大气物理研究所观测的大气污染物体积分数资料,分析不同时段气流输送作用对北京主要大气污染物体积分数的影响.发现采暖季和非采暖季北京气体污染物体积分数高值主要集中在来自风速较小的西北方气流聚类.采暖季污染物体积分数低值主要出现在偏北方向风速较大的后向气流轨迹聚类.非采暖季污染物体积分数低值主要出现在偏北低速气流聚类和西北向高速气流轨迹聚类中.从各时段污染物最值分布情况可以看出:在风速较大的后向气流轨迹聚类影响下,北京的污染物体积分数较低;途经了较严重工业排放地带的后向气流轨迹聚类会使北京气体污染物体积分数显著增高.此外,虽然非采暖季的大气污染物分布与气流输送的影响基本符合,但各聚类污染物分布结果与气流输送作用的影响存在偏差.     

Atmospheric abundance of HULIS during wintertime in Indo-Gangetic Plain: impact of biomass burning emissions

This study reports for the first-time the ambient concentrations of HULIS mass (HULIS-OM, Humic-like substances) and HULIS-C (carbon) in PM₁₀ (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter?≤?10 μm) from the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP at Kanpur, wintertime). HULIS extraction followed by purification and isolation protocol with methanol: acetonitrile (1:1 v/v) on HLB (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balanced) cartridge has been established. Quantification of HULIS-C was achieved on a total organic carbon (TOC) analyser whereas HULIS-OM was determined gravimetrically. Consistently high recovery (> 90%) of HULIS-C based on analysis of Humic standard (sodium salt of Humic acid) suggested suitability of our established analytical protocol involving solvent extraction, purification and accurate quantification of HULIS. HULIS-OM varied from 17.3–38 μg m^?3 during daytime and from 19.8–40.6 μg m^?3 during night in this study. During daytime the HULIS-OM constituted 20–30% mass fraction of OM_Total and 10–15% of PM₁₀ mass. However, a relatively low contribution of HULIS-OM has been observed during the night. This observation has been attributed to higher concentrations of OM and PM₁₀ in night owing to nighttime chemical reactivity and condensation of organics in conjunction with shallower planetary boundary layer height. Strong correlation of HULIS-C with K⁺_BB (R²?>?0.80) and significant day-night variability of HULIS-C/WSOC ratio in conjunction with air-mass back trajectories (showing transport of pollutants from upwind IGP) suggest biomass burning emission and secondary transformations as important sources of HULIS over IGP. High-loading of atmospheric PM₁₀ (as high as 440 μg m^?3) with significant contribution of water-soluble organic aerosols (WSOC/OC: ~ 0.40–0.80) during wintertime highlights their plausible potential role in fog and haze formation and their impact on regional-scale atmospheric radiative forcing over the IGP.     

Synoptic and regional patterns of heavy precipitation in Austria

Summary Seven synoptic patterns responsible for heavy precipitation in Austria were identified with a trajectory clustering method. Back trajectories at different levels, at different times during each day, and from different locations in Austria were utilised together with one potential vorticity value. In addition, seven regions within Austria with similar daily precipitation were identified. The response of heavy precipitation in each of these regions to the synoptic patterns was studied. The results correspond to the synoptic experience and reflect known meteorological situations, such as southerly and northerly Stau or the Vb pattern. The analyses are based on the 15-year re-analysis of the ECMWF (1979–1993), used to calculate the back trajectories, and daily precipitation sums of 131 climate stations in Austria. This paves the way to future applications in climate change research, as the necessary input data are also available from global climate models. The clustering was performed with a promising new procedure, a combination of hierarchical and iterative (K-means) clustering.     

Relationships between atmospheric circulation patterns and co2 greenhouse-gas concentration levels in the alpine troposphere

Middle tropospheric CO₂ air concentrations, measured during a four year observation period at an Alpine Station (Plateau Rosa, Italian North-West Alps, 3480 m a.s.l.), have been correlated with the relevant synoptic air trajectories crossing the observation site. Meaningful relationships have been found among average curvature, altitude and potential temperature of clusters of homogeneous trajectories and their related CO₂ concentrations measured at Plateau Rosà, allowing an objective identification of weather conditions giving rise to fully mixed air masses corresponding to background atmospheric CO₂ levels. Air trajectories were calculated by using the wind speed fields provided by the ECMWF objective analysis. As during the analysis period a change of the ECMWF model resolution occurred (from T106 to T213), the study was also carried out in the sub-periods respectively preceding and following this change (in September 1991). Even if some features of the wind field turned out to be statistically different in the two sub-periods, nevertheless the differences on the trajectory patterns were small enough to keep almost unchanged all conclusions drawn for the whole four-year period.     

Influence of the atmospheric conditions on PM<Subscript>10</Subscript> concentrations in Poznań, Poland

This study investigates atmospheric conditions’ influence on the mean and extreme characteristics of PM₁₀ concentrations in Poznań during the period 2006–2013. A correlation analysis was carried out to identify the most important meteorological variables influencing the seasonal dynamics of PM₁₀ concentrations. The highest absolute correlation values were obtained for planetary boundary layer height (r = ?0.57), thermal (daily minimum air temperature: r = ?0.51), anemological (average daily wind speed: r = ?0.37), and pluvial (precipitation occurrence: r = ?0.36) conditions, however the highest correlations were observed for temporal autocorrelations (1 day lag: r = 0.70). As regulated by law, extreme events were identified on the basis of daily threshold value i.e. 50 μg m^?3. On average, annually there are approximately 71.3 days anywhere in the city when the threshold value is exceeded, 46.6 % of those occur in winter. Additionally, 83.7 % of these cases have been found to be continuous episodes of a few days, with the longest one persisting for 22 days. The analysis of the macro-scale circulation patterns led to the identification of an easy-to-perceive seasonal relations between atmospheric fields that favour the occurrence of high PM₁₀ concentration, as well as synoptic situations contributing to the rapid air quality improvement. The highest PM₁₀ concentrations are a clear reaction to a decrease in air temperature by over 3 °C, with simultaneous lowering of PBL height, mean wind speed (by around 1 m s^?1) and changing dominant wind directions from western to eastern sectors. In most cases, such a situation is related to the expansion of a high pressure system over eastern Europe and weakening of the Icelandic Low. Usually, air quality conditions improve along with an intensification of westerlies associated with the occurrence of low pressure systems over western and central Europe. Opposite relations are distinguishable in summer, when air quality deterioration is related to the inflow of tropical air masses originating over the Sahara desert.     

Size distributions of ambient air particles and enrichment factor analyses of metallic elements at Taichung Harbor near the Taiwan Strait

This work attempts to characterize metallic elements associated with atmospheric particulate matter on a dry deposition plate, a TE-PUF high-volume air sampler and a universal air sampler. Dry deposition fluxes of particulates and concentrations of total suspended particulate, fine (PM_2.5) and coarse (PM_2.5–10) particulate matters were collected at Taichung harbor sampling sites from August 2004 to January 2005. Chemical analyses of metallic elements were made using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer coupled with hollow cathode lamps. Concentrations of metal elements in the forms of coarse particles and fine particles as well as the coarse/fine particulate ratios were presented. Statistical methods such as correlation analysis, principal component analysis and enrichment factor analysis were performed to compare the chemical components and identify possible emission sources at the sampling sites. Metallic elements of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni and Mg had higher EF_crust ratios in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. Diurnal and nocturnal variations of metallic element concentrations in fine and coarse particles were also discussed.     

Chemical characterization of water-soluble aerosols in different residential environments of semi aridregion of India

This paper deals with the atmospheric concentrations of PM₅ and PM_2.5 particulate matter and its water soluble constituents along with the size distribution of ions and spatial variation at three different residential environments in a semiarid region in India. Samples were collected from the indoors and outdoors of urban, rural and roadside sites of Agra during October 2007–March 2008. The mean concentrations of PM_2.5 indoors and outdoors were 178 μgm⁻³ and 195 μgm⁻³ while the mean concentrations of PM₅ indoors and outdoors were 231.8 μgm⁻³ and 265.2 μgm⁻³ respectively. Out of the total aerosol mass, water soluble constituents contributed an average of 80% (33% anions, 50% cations) in PM₅ and 70% (29% anions, 43% cations) in PM_2.5. The indoor–outdoor ratio of water soluble components suggested additional aerosol indoor sources at rural and roadside sites. Indoor–outdoor correlations were also determined which show poor relationships among concentrations of aerosol ions at all three sites. Univariate Pearson correlation coefficients among water soluble aerosols were determined to evaluate the relationship between aerosol ions in indoor and outdoor air.     

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

It is still not well understood if subseasonal variability of the local PM_2.5 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region is affected by the stratospheric state. Using PM_2.5 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 PM_2.5 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.