A NEW SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL FUSION MODEL

Unprecedented urbanization in China has led to serious urban heat island (UHI) issues, exerting intense heat stress on urban residents. We find diverse influences of aerosol pollution on urban heat island intensity (UHII) under different circulations. Our results also highlight the role of black carbon in aggravating UHI, especially during nighttime. It could thus be targeted for cooperative management of heat islands and aerosol pollution.

We find rapid NO₂ growth over Western China over 2005–2013 at a rate which exceeds the rates over the well-known polluted regions in the east. A nested GEOS-Chem simulation and Chinese official emission data confirm that anthropogenic emissions are the main driver of NO₂ variations. Additional socioeconomic analysis suggests that this rapid NO₂ growth is likely related to the fast industrialization and urbanization along with the "Go West" movement as well as relatively weak emission controls.