Weather‐Climate Anomalies and Regional Transport Contribute to Air Pollution in Northern China During the COVID‐19 Lockdown

Two persistent and heavy haze episodes during the COVID‐19 lockdown (from 20 Jan to 22 Feb 2020) still occur in northern China, when anthropogenic emissions, particularly from transportation sources, are greatly reduced. To investigate the underlying cause, this study comprehensively uses in‐situ measurements for ambient surface pollutants, reanalysis meteorological data and the WRF‐Chem model to calculate the contribution of NOx emission change and weather‐climate change to the “unexpectedly heavy” haze. Results show that a substantial NOx reduction has slightly decreased PM2.5 concentration. By contrast, the weakest East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) in the 2019–2020 winter relative to the past decade is particularly important for haze occurrence. A warmer and moister climate is also favorable. Model results suggest that climate anomalies lead to a 25–50 μg m−3 increase of PM2.5 concentration, and atmospheric transport is also an important contributor to two haze episodes. The first haze is closely related to the atmospheric transport of pollutants from NEC to the south, and fireworks emissions in NEC are a possible amplifying factor that warrants future studies. The second one is caused by the convergence of a southerly wind and a mountain wind, resulting in an intra‐regional transport within BTH, with a maximal PM2.5 increment of 50–100 μg m−3. These results suggest that climate change and regional transport are of great importance to haze occurrence in China, even with significant emission reductions of pollutants.