Decadal variation of surface solar radiation in the Tibetan Plateau from observations, reanalysis and model simulations

In this study, the annual and seasonal variations of all-sky and clear-sky surface solar radiation (SSR) in the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau (TP) during the period 1960–2009 are investigated, based on surface observational data, reanalyses and ensemble simulations with the global climate model ECHAM5-HAM. The mean annual all-sky SSR series shows a decreasing trend with a rate of ?1.00 Wm^?2 decade^?1, which is mainly seen in autumn and secondly in summer and winter. A stronger decrease of ?2.80 Wm^?2 decade^?1 is found in the mean annual clear-sky SSR series, especially during winter and autumn. Overall, these results confirm a tendency towards a decrease of SSR in the TP during the last five decades. The comparisons with reanalysis show that both NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 reanalyses do not capture the decadal variations of the all-sky and clear-sky SSR. This is probably due to a missing consideration of aerosols in the reanalysis assimilation model. The SSR simulated with the ECHAM5-HAM global climate model under both all-sky and clear-sky conditions reproduce the decrease seen in the surface observations, especially after 1980. The steadily increasing aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm over the TP in the ECHAM5-HAM results suggests transient aerosol emissions as a plausible cause.     

Study of distinctive regional features of surface solar radiation in North and East China

Solar radiation is an important energy source for plants on the earth and also a major component of the global energy balance. Variations in solar radiation incident at the earth’s surface profoundly affect the human and terrestrial environment, including the climate change. To provide useful information for predicting the future climate change in China, distinctive regional features in spatial and temporal variations of the surface solar radiation (SSR) and corresponding attributions (such as cloud and aer...     

Study of Distinctive Regional Features of Surface Solar Radiation in North and East China

Solar radiation is an important energy source for plants on the earth and also a major component of the global energy balance.Variations in solar radiation incident at the earth's surface profoundly affect the human and terrestrial environment,including the climate change.To provide useful information for predicting the future climate change in China,distinctive regional features in spatial and temporal variations of the surface solar radiation (SSR) and corresponding attributions (such as cloud and aerosol) are analyzed based on SSR observations and other meteorological measurements in North and East China from 1961 to 2007.Multiple models,such as the plane-parallel radiative transfer model,empirical and statistical models,and corrclation and regrcssion analysis methods are used in the study.The results are given as follows.(1) During 1961-2007,the total SSR in North China went through a process from quickly “dimming” to slowly “dimming”,while in East China,a significant transition from “dimming” to “brightening” occurred.Although there are some differences between thc two regional variation trends,long-term variations in SSR in the two regions are basically consistent with the observation worldwide.(2) Between the 1960s and 1980s,in both North and East China,aerosols played a critical rolc in the radiation dimming.However,after 1989,different variation trends of SSR occurred in North and East China,indicating that aerosols were not the dominant factor.(3) Cloud cover contributed less to the variation of SSR in North China,but was thc major attribution in East China and played a promoting role in the reversal of SSR from dimming to brightening,especially in the “remarkable brightening” period,with its contribution as high as 70％.     

全球气候模式对东亚地区地表短波辐射的模拟检验

利用WCRPCMIP3提供的18个全球气候模式输出结果, 检验了其对东亚地区地表短波辐射的模拟能力, 结果表明:多模式集合的多年平均地表短波辐射模拟偏高约8.7 W/m 2, 晴空地表短波辐射模拟偏高约3.4 W/m 2, 地表短波云辐射强迫模拟偏低约5.3 W/m2, 模式间的标准差分别达到9.6, 7.8 W/m2和8 W/ m2; 多模式集合能够很好地模拟出地表短波辐射的纬向平均季节变化的位相特征, 但在量值上还有较大的差距; 模拟偏差分析表明, 多模式集合的区域年平均地表短波辐射、晴空地表短波辐射、地表短波云辐射强迫的均方根偏差分别为34.7, 17.1 W/m 2和29.1 W/ m2, 表明云在地表短波辐射的模拟偏差中起着重要作用; 多模式集合能够很好地模拟出地表入射短波辐射年变化的线性减小趋势, 但模式高估了晴空入射辐射的减小趋势, 而模拟的云辐射强迫变化趋势与ERA 40完全相反。     

Modulation of decadal ENSO-like variation by effective solar radiation

Prediction of the Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the coming decades is a challenge as the SST anomaly changes over time due to natural and anthropogenic climate forcing. The climate changes in the mid-1970s and late-1990s were related to the decadal Pacific SST variability. The changes in the mid-1970s were associated with the positive phase of decadal El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like SST variation, and the changes in the late-1990s were related to its negative phase. However, it is not clear whether this decadal SST variability is related to any external forcing. Here, we show that the effective solar radiation (ESR), which includes the net solar radiation and the effects of volcanic eruption, has modulated this decadal ENSO-like oscillation. The eastern Pacific warming (cooling) associated with this decadal ENSO-like oscillation over the past 139 years is significantly related to weak (strong) ESR. The weak ESR with strong volcanic eruption is found to strengthen the El Niño, resulting in an El Niño-like SST anomaly on the decadal time scale. The strong eruptions of the El Chicho’n (1982) and Pinatubo (1991) volcanoes reduced the ESR during the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. The radiation reduction weakened the Walker circulation due to the “ocean thermostat” mechanism that generates eastern Pacific warming associated with a decadal El Niño-like SST anomaly. This mechanism has been confirmed by the millennium run of ECHO-G model, in which the positive eastward gradient of SST over the equatorial Pacific was simulated under the weak ESR forcing on the decadal time scale. We now experience a reversal of the trend in the ESR. The strong solar radiation and lack of strong volcanic eruptions over the past 15 years have resulted in strong ESR, which should enhance the Walker circulation, leading to a La Niña-like SST anomaly.     

热带大气ISO在几种再分析资料中的对比分析

利用NCEP/NCAR, NCEP/DOE和ERA40 3套再分析资料的逐日200 hPa纬向风数据,选取1961—1990年、1971—2000年和1981—2010年3种不同气候态,对比分析了3种气候态下热带大气季节内振荡 (ISO) 的基本气候特征及其在不同再分析资料中的异同。研究表明:1981—2010年气候态下,热带大气ISO冬春强、夏秋弱的年循环特征更加明显,东传短波能量增强,起始北传时间偏晚。NCEP/NCAR与NCEP/DOE资料所表征的热带大气ISO在空间分布、强度和能量传播方面的一致性较好。NCEP/NCAR资料反映的热带大气ISO强度在热带印度洋和热带西太平洋地区较ERA40资料偏弱,在赤道东太平洋地区较ERA40资料偏强;ERA40资料反映的热带大气ISO强度在12月—次年3月中旬较NCEP/NCAR资料偏强,而在3月中旬—11月偏弱;ERA40资料反映的热带大气ISO振荡位相较NCEP/NCAR资料超前10 d左右;NCEP/NCAR资料反映的东传谱能量弱于ERA40资料,西传能量强于ERA40资料;7月中旬,NCEP/NCAR资料反映的东亚地区大气ISO经向北传较ERA40资料偏晚。     

An assessment of the surface climate in the NCEP climate forecast system reanalysis

This paper analyzes surface climate variability in the climate forecast system reanalysis (CFSR) recently completed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The CFSR represents a new generation of reanalysis effort with first guess from a coupled atmosphere?Cocean?Csea ice?Cland forecast system. This study focuses on the analysis of climate variability for a set of surface variables including precipitation, surface air 2-m temperature (T2m), and surface heat fluxes. None of these quantities are assimilated directly and thus an assessment of their variability provides an independent measure of the accuracy. The CFSR is compared with observational estimates and three previous reanalyses (the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis or R1, the NCEP/DOE reanalysis or R2, and the ERA40 produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). The CFSR has improved time-mean precipitation distribution over various regions compared to the three previous reanalyses, leading to a better representation of freshwater flux (evaporation minus precipitation). For interannual variability, the CFSR shows improved precipitation correlation with observations over the Indian Ocean, Maritime Continent, and western Pacific. The T2m of the CFSR is superior to R1 and R2 with more realistic interannual variability and long-term trend. On the other hand, the CFSR overestimates downward solar radiation flux over the tropical Western Hemisphere warm pool, consistent with a negative cloudiness bias and a positive sea surface temperature bias. Meanwhile, the evaporative latent heat flux in CFSR appears to be larger than other observational estimates over most of the globe. A few deficiencies in the long-term variations are identified in the CFSR. Firstly, dramatic changes are found around 1998?C2001 in the global average of a number of variables, possibly related to the changes in the assimilated satellite observations. Secondly, the use of multiple streams for the CFSR induces spurious jumps in soil moisture between adjacent streams. Thirdly, there is an inconsistency in long-term sea ice extent variations over the Arctic regions between the CFSR and other observations with the CFSR showing smaller sea ice extent before 1997 and larger extent starting in 1997. These deficiencies may have impacts on the application of the CFSR for climate diagnoses and predictions. Relationships between surface heat fluxes and SST tendency and between SST and precipitation are analyzed and compared with observational estimates and other reanalyses. Global mean fields of surface heat and water fluxes together with radiation fluxes at the top of the atmosphere are documented and presented over the entire globe, and for the ocean and land separately.     

2000—2016年中国再分析辐射资料与观测值对比

大气再分析辐射资料克服了传统的地面观测资料缺乏和台站分布不均的缺点,以及卫星遥感反演算法的适用性和传感器精度等问题,采用不同的模型对太阳辐射状况进行动态模拟,并结合实际观测数据对模型进行校正,建立了长时间序列和不同分辨率的数据产品。尽管目前再分析辐射产品评估已经有较多的研究,但是针对我国长时间序列太阳辐射变化的不同再分析辐射资料间的精度对比评估较少,尤其缺乏不同再分析辐射资料空间差异性研究。选取2000—2016年NCEP/DOE、ERA-Interim、GLDASV2.1三种不同空间分辨率的再分析辐射资料,通过对比三种资料与我国辐射观测数据的差异,对三种再分析辐射资料在空间分布和时间序列的适用性进行详细的精确度评估。结果表明,从年资料对比来看,2000—2016年中国区域NCEP辐射资料显著高于其他三种资料,与观测值平均偏差约为1 342.2 MJ/（m2a）,东部地区高估现象严重。ERA辐射资料平均偏差为681.8 MJ/（m2a）,中国西部、华北及华中地区高估严重。GLDAS辐射资料平均偏差最小为130.2 MJ/（m2a）。从月资料对比来看,三种再分析数据在夏秋季月份的精度比冬春季月份要高。冬半年,三种再分析资料在海拔>1 000 m的东北大兴安岭、西北和云南等地相对误差低于海拔 < 1 000 m的华北、华中、华东、西南和华南地区;但夏半年这种分布现象不明显。      

中国土壤湿度的分布与变化 I. 多种资料间的比较

土壤湿度是影响气候的重要因子之一, 但观测资料的欠缺制约着该领域研究工作的开展。本文汇总了目前国际上运用较为广泛的四套土壤湿度资料: ERA40和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、全球土壤湿度计划资料(GSWP2)、以及NCAR最近完成的利用观测资料强迫“通用陆面模式”CLM所产生的土壤湿度资料。在此基础上, 利用中国区域观测的19年 (1981～1999年) 的土壤湿度和13年 (1992～2004年) 的土壤相对湿度资料, 对四套资料在中国区域的可靠性进行了分析和比较, 主要结论如下: 四套资料基本揭示出土壤湿度的空间分布, GSWP2揭示了四套资料最多的共性, 即东北、 华南湿, 华北、 西北干, 土壤湿度基本由西北向东北和东南呈梯度增加的特征; GSWP2较好地描述了土壤湿度的季节循环; ERA40土壤湿度的年际变化与观测相关最好; 观测资料和四套资料都表明前期降水会增加土壤湿度, 但土壤湿度异常对后期降水的影响则不显著; 气温与土壤湿度的关系较复杂, 不同的区域有不同的特征。     

Extreme wind speeds in the European sector of the Arctic

Variations in extreme wind speed over the European part of the Arctic are studied from the data of meteorological observations, reanalysis, and modeling based on the INM CM4 climate model. It is demonstrated that the extremes determined from the observational data are a mixture of two datasets well simulated by the Weibull distribution. According to the special metaphoric terminology, they are called “black swans” and “dragons.” The analysis of extreme wind speeds based on the reanalysis and INM CM4 data demonstrated that they consist of “black swans” only. This important fact indicates that the models (at least those with medium horizontal resolution) are not able to simulate some essential circulation mechanisms causing the formation of significant anomalies of wind speed. Hence, the problem of direct identification of wind speed extremes based on the atmospheric modeling remains open.     

Analysis of the Decadal and Interdecadal Variations of the East Asian Winter Monsoon as Simulated by 20 Coupled Models in IPCC AR4

Using the output data of 20 coupled climate models used in IPCC AR4 and observational data from NCEP, the capability of the models to simulate the boreal winter climatology of the East Asian sea level pressure, 850-hPa wind, and surface air temperature; the decadal variations of the East Asian winter mon- soon (EAWM) intensity and EAWM-related circulation, and the interdecadal variations of EAWM-related circulation are systematically evaluated. The results indicate that 16 models can weakly simulate the declin- ing trend of the EAWM in the 1980s. More than half of the models produce relatively reasonable decadal variations of the EAWM-related circulation and the interdecadal di?erences of EAWM-related circulation between the boreal winters of 1960-1985 and 1986-1998, including the weakened Siberian high, Aleutian low, and East Asian trough, the enhanced Arctic oscillation and North Pacific oscillation, and a deepened polar vortex. It is found that the performance of the multi-selected-model ensemble in reproducing the spatial dis- tribution of the variations is encouraging, although the variational amplitudes are generally smaller than the observations. In addition, it is found that BCCR_BCM2.0, CGCM3.1_T63, CNRM_CM3, CSIRO_MK3.0, GISS-ER, INM_CM3.0, and MRI_CGCM2.3.2 perform well in every aspect     

Potential impacts of East Asian winter monsoon on climate variability and predictability in the Australian summer monsoon region

This study explores potential impacts of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) on summer climate variability and predictability in the Australia–Asian region through Australia–Asia (A-A) monsoon interactions. Observational analysis is conducted for the period of 1959 to 2001 using ERA-40 wind reanalysis and Climate Research Unit rainfall and surface temperature monthly datasets. Statistically significant correlations are established between the Australian summer monsoon and its rainfall variations with cross-equatorial flows penetrating from South China Sea region and northerly flow in the EAWM. The underlying mechanism for such connections is the response of the position and intensity of Hardley circulation to strong/weak EAWM. A strong EAWM is associated with an enhanced cross-equatorial flow crossing the maritime continent and a strengthened Australia summer monsoon westerlies which affect rainfall and temperature variations in northern and eastern part of the Australian continent. Furthermore, partial correlation analysis, which largely excludes El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effects, suggests that these connections are the inherent features in the monsoon system. This is further supported by analyzing a global model experiment using persistent sea surface temperatures (SSTs) which, without any SST interannual variations, shows similar patterns as in the observational analysis. Furthermore, such interaction could potentially affect climate predictability in the region, as shown by some statistically significant lag correlations at monthly time scale. Such results are attributed to the impacts of EAWM on regional SST variations and its linkage to surface conditions in the Eurasian continent. Finally, such impacts under global warmed climate are discussed by analyzing ten IPCC AR4 models and results suggest they still exist in the warmed climate even though the EAWM tends to be weaker.     

Analysis of the decadal and interdecadal variations of the east asian winter monsoon as simulated by 20 coupled models in IPCC AR4

Using the output data of 20 coupled climate models used in IPCC AR4 and observational data from NCEP, the capability of the models to simulate the boreal winter climatology of the East Asian sea level pressure, 850-hPa wind, and surface air temperature; the decadal variations of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) intensity and EAWM-related circulation, and the interdecadal variations of EAWM-related circulation are systematically evaluated. The results indicate that 16 models can weakly simulate the declining trend of the EAWM in the 1980s. More than half of the models produce relatively reasonable decadal variations of the EAWM-related circulation and the interdecadal differences of EAWM-related circulation between the boreal winters of 1960-1985 and 1986-1998, including the weakened Siberian high, Aleutian low, and East Asian trough, the enhanced Arctic oscillation and North Pacific oscillation, and a deepened polar vortex. It is found that the performance of the multi-selected-model ensemble in reproducing the spatial distribution of the variations is encouraging, although the variational amplitudes are generally smaller than the observations. In addition, it is found that BCCR-BCM2.0, CGCM3.1-T63, CNRM-CM3, CSIRO-MK3.0, GISS-ER, INM-CM3.0, and MRI-CGCM2.3.2 perform well in every aspect.     

Evaluation of regional climate model simulations versus gridded observed and regional reanalysis products using a combined weighting scheme

This study presents a combined weighting scheme which contains five attributes that reflect accuracy of climate data, i.e. short-term (daily), mid-term (annual), and long-term (decadal) timescales, as well as spatial pattern, and extreme values, as simulated from Regional Climate Models (RCMs) with respect to observed and regional reanalysis products. Southern areas of Quebec and Ontario provinces in Canada are used for the study area. Three series of simulation from two different versions of the Canadian RCM (CRCM4.1.1, and CRCM4.2.3) are employed over 23?years from 1979 to 2001, driven by both NCEP and ERA40 global reanalysis products. One series of regional reanalysis dataset (i.e. NARR) over North America is also used as reference for comparison and validation purpose, as well as gridded historical observed daily data of precipitation and temperatures, both series have been beforehand interpolated on the CRCM 45-km grid resolution. Monthly weighting factors are calculated and then combined into four seasons to reflect seasonal variability of climate data accuracy. In addition, this study generates weight averaged references (WARs) with different weighting factors and ensemble size as new reference climate data set. The simulation results indicate that the NARR is in general superior to the CRCM simulated precipitation values, but the CRCM4.1.1 provides the highest weighting factors during the winter season. For minimum and maximum temperature, both the CRCM4.1.1 and the NARR products provide the highest weighting factors, respectively. The NARR provides more accurate short- and mid-term climate data, but the two versions of the CRCM provide more precise long-term data, spatial pattern and extreme events. Or study confirms also that the global reanalysis data (i.e. NCEP vs. ERA40) used as boundary conditions in the CRCM runs has non-negligible effects on the accuracy of CRCM simulated precipitation and temperature values. In addition, this study demonstrates that the proposed weighting factors reflect well all five attributes and the performances of weighted averaged references are better than that of the best single model. This study also found that the improvement of WARs’ performance is due to the reliability (accuracy) of RCMs rather than the ensemble size.     

Inconsistencies of precipitation in the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau between surface adjusted data and reanalysis

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the source of many Asian river systems and serves as “the Asian water tower”. Precipitation variability is a strong component of both hydrological processes and energy cycles, and the study of precipitation in the TP is of great importance in the content of global warming. In this study, the annual and seasonal (spring: MAM; summer: JJA; autumn: SON; and winter: DJF) variations in precipitation are investigated in the eastern and central TP during 1961–2007, based on surface raw and adjusted observations as well as both NCEP/NCAR (1961–2007) and ERA-40 (1961–2001) reanalyses. The adjusted precipitation in the TP is higher than raw values on both the annual and seasonal basis due to adjustments of solid precipitation by a bias experiential model. At the annual spring and winter scales, the adjusted precipitation shows a significant increase calculated by the Mann–Kendall trend test. Compared with adjusted precipitation; both NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 reanalyses capture the broad spatial distributions of mean annual and seasonal precipitation, but are less good at repeating the decadal variability. Both reanalyses show the drying phenomena in most regions and fail to represent the change patterns of precipitation observed by the adjusted observations. Both NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 have larger inconsistencies which may be caused by the differences between actual and model topography. This suggests that it is crucial to use the adjusted precipitation in the climate research and reanalysis products should be paid more attention in the TP.     

Precipitation climatically features over the Huai River Basin,China

The temporal and spatial characteristics of precipitation in the HRB (Huai River Basin) were studied using the observation data of monthly precipitation provided by the National Climate Center from 1961–2016 and the NCEP/NCAR global monthly reanalysis data. The results showed that: (1) The precipitation was mainly concentrated in summer, accounting for 52% of the total annual precipitation; there was more precipitation in the south, less in the north, and more in the coastal areas, less in the inland in summer; (2) The precipitation showed obvious decadal variations, especially in summer; the range of variation of most regions is above 140 mm; and significant decadal abrupt changes of precipitation from “abnormally less” to “abnormally more” appeared around 1979.     

BCC模式对北半球阻塞高压的模拟偏差评估及原因

基于NCEP/NCAR、日本气象厅的JRA55以及欧洲中期预报中心（ECMWF）最新发布的ERA5三套逐日再分析资料数据,考察国家气候中心中等分辨率（约110 km）的气候系统模式BCC-CSM2-MR和单独大气模式BCC-AGCM3-MR对北半球中高纬度阻塞高压（阻高）的模拟能力。再分析数据分析结果表明:“北大西洋—欧洲地区”以及“北太平洋中部地区”分别为北半球阻高发生的最高频及次高频区域;冬春季为阻高高发季节,夏秋季阻高频率减少至冬春季的一半左右;ERA5再分析资料中各个季节的阻高频率均高于另两套资料结果,尤其在北太平洋地区。模拟评估结果显示,单独大气模式BCC-AGCM3-MR对北半球中高纬度阻高发生频率、空间分布和季节变化特征均有较好的模拟能力,其主要偏差表现为冬春欧亚大陆特别是乌拉尔山地区阻高频率偏高,而北大西洋地区阻高频率偏低;春季北太平洋阻高频率偏低。这与模式北半球高纬度地区500 hPa位势高度场气候态偏差有关。BCC-CSM2-MR耦合模式的阻高模拟偏差总体与大气模式类似。但耦合模式中冬季欧亚大陆特别是乌拉尔山地区阻高频率减小、北太平洋春季阻高频率增大,模拟偏差减小。同时,耦合模式能够再现夏季北太平洋东西阻高频率双峰值特征。因此,海气耦合过程有助于改善对欧亚及北太平洋地区阻高频率模拟。阻高频率年际变率受到气候系统内部变率不确定性的较大影响,这也是制约阻高预测水平的重要因素。     

江苏省土壤湿度观测资料与再分析资料对比分析研究

利用江苏省2010—2015年的60个站点土壤湿度观测资料,对欧洲中心ERA-Interim再分析资料(ERA)和美国宇航局再分析资料(MERRA)的两套土壤湿度数据在江苏地区的可靠性进行了评估。结果表明:相比于ERA再分析资料,MERRA较好地再现出江苏省次表层年平均土壤湿度的空间分布特征,但是两种资料的次表层和深层土壤湿度的数值均小于观测。ERA和MERRA基本都能揭示出江苏省次表层土壤湿度的季节变化特征,但是深层土壤湿度与观测仍有较大差距。在时间演变方面,ERA次表层土壤湿度与站点观测在研究时段内较为接近,EOF分析揭示出1979—2016年江苏省次表层土壤湿度存在区域一致型与南北偶极型两个主要的年代际变率模态。但是对于深层土壤湿度时间演变而言,两种再分析资料都与观测有较大的差距。总体而言,再分析资料的次表层土壤湿度与站点观测较为接近,但是由于再分析资料陆面模式中地下水等影响深层土壤湿度的关键过程刻画较为简单,使得深层土壤湿度与观测有较大的差距。     

NCEP/NCAR再分析资料所揭示的全球季风降水变化

大气模式是研究气候变化的重要工具,当前的大气模式在模拟季风降水时均存在较大偏差,目前尚不清楚该偏差是来自模式环流场还是模式物理过程.再分析资料由于同化了各类观测和卫星资料,其大气环流近似可被视作是“真实”的.再分析资料中的降水场是在基本真实的环流场强迫下,由当前最先进的数值预报模式计算输出的.因此,再分析资料的降水场能...     

Characteristics of Surface Solar Radiation under Different Air Pollution Conditions over Nanjing,China: Observation and Simulation

Surface solar radiation (SSR) can affect climate, the hydrological cycle, plant photosynthesis, and solar power. The values of solar radiation at the surface reflect the influence of human activity on radiative climate and environmental effects, so it is a key parameter in the evaluation of climate change and air pollution due to anthropogenic disturbances. This study presents the characteristics of the SSR variation in Nanjing, China, from March 2016 to June 2017, using a combined set of pyranometer and pyrheliometer observations. The SSR seasonal variation and statistical properties are investigated and characterized under different air pollution levels and visibilities. We discuss seasonal variations in visibility, air quality index (AQI), particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5), and their correlations with SSR. The scattering of solar radiation by particulate matter varies significantly with particle size. Compared with the particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter between 2.5 μm and 10 μm (PM_2.5?10), we found that the PM_2.5 dominates the variation of scattered radiation due to the differences of single-scattering albedo and phase function. Because of the correlation between PM_2.5 and SSR, it is an effective and direct method to estimate PM_2.5 by the value of SSR, or vice versa to obtain the SSR by the value of PM_2.5. Under clear-sky conditions (clearness index ≥0.5), the visibility is negatively correlated with the diffuse fraction, AQI, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5, and their correlation coefficients are ?0.50, ?0.60, ?0.76, and ?0.92, respectively. The results indicate the linkage between scattered radiation and air quality through the value of visibility.