A dark October in Beijing 2016

In recent years, haze pollution events in Beijing have increased sharply, and the haze pollution of Beijing in October 2016 reached a new high. Meteorological conditions are thought to have influences on the haze occurrence, yet the associated atmospheric circulation of haze in October and why the most severe haze pollution occurred in 2016 is still unclear. Here, the authors show through daily observation and reanalysis data that key regions of North Atlantic and North Pacific sea surface temperature （SST） anomalies may be the main factors for this most severe haze event. Since 2013, the SSTs of these two key regions have increased dramatically and reached a peak, which could have induced the severe haze pollution by affecting the Eurasia teleconnection （EU） and the North Pacific Oscillation, with these factors then providing favorable dynamic and thermodynamic conditions for haze development.

近年来,北京的雾霾污染事件剧增,2016年10月的污染达到了一个历史同期最高点。根据前人研究,气象条件在雾霾污染事件中起着非常重要的作用,然而现有研究对于十月份与雾霾相关大气环流情况以及为什么2016年会出现最严重的污染事件的原因尚不清楚。本研究中作者利用观测和再分析的日资料共同研究发现,北大西洋和北太平洋关键区域海温可能是此次严重污染事件最主要的原因。2013年之后,这两个关键区域海温显著增加并在2016年达到一个顶峰,这样的海温异常可以通过影响欧亚遥相关波列和北太平洋涛动,从而产生有利于雾霾生成和发展的动力和热力条件,最终导致2016年10月北京出现历史同期最严重的雾霾污染事件。