Find in Library

Rapid urbanization in China has led to an increasing problem of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) pollution, which negatively impacts urban ecology and public health. Nitrogen dioxide is an important atmospheric pollutant, and quantitative spatio-temporal analysis and influencing factor analysis of Chinese cities can help improve urban air pollution. In this study, the spatio-temporal analysis methods were used to explore the variations of NO₂ pollution in Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020. The findings are as follows. In more than half of Chinese cities, NO₂ levels remarkably decreased between 2005 and 2020. The effective NO₂ reduction strategies contributed to the significant NO₂ reduction during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). Moreover, we found that the pandemic of COVID-19 alleviated NO₂ pollution in China since it reduced the traffic, industrial, and living activities. The NO₂ pollution in Chinese cities was found highly spatially clustered. The geographically and temporally weighted regression model was used to analyze the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of NO₂ pollution influencing factors in Chinese cities, including natural meteorological and socio-economic factors. The results showed that the GDPPC, population densities, and ambient air pressure were positively correlated with NO₂ pollution. In contrast, the ratio of the tertiary to the secondary industry, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity negatively impacted the NO₂ pollution level. The findings of this research contribute to the improvement of urban air quality, stimulating the achievements of the sustainable development goals of Chinese cities.