Significant increase of summertime ozone at Mount Tai in Central Eastern China

A significant increase in summertime ozone (O₃) levels has been observed at Mount Tai, the highest mountain over the North China Plain, with rates of 1.7 ppbv per year in June and 2.1 ppbv per year for July–August averages from 2003 to 2015. This finding, supported by a global chemistry-climate model (GFDL-AM3), attributes the rise primarily to increased emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), despite a decline in nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) since 2011. The study highlights that controlling NOₓ alone is insufficient for reducing regional O₃ levels in North China, emphasizing the need for concurrent VOC emission controls. Researchers analyzed long-term surface O₃ measurements and satellite data to quantify decadal changes and identify key precursors driving ozone production.

Sun, L., Xue, L., Wang, T., Gao, J., Ding, A., Cooper, O. R., Lin, M., Xu, P., Wang, Z., Wang, X., Wen, L., Zhu, Y., Chen, T., Yang, L., Wang, Y., Chen, J., & Wang, W. (2016). Significant increase of summertime ozone at Mount Tai in Central Eastern China. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16(16), 10637–10650. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10637-2016