Air pollution episodes during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China: An insight into the transport pathways and source distribution

Although anthropogenic emissions decreased, polluted days still occurred in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Analysis of the characteristics and source distribution of large-scale air pollution episodes during the COVID-19 outbreak (from 23 January to April 8, 2020) in the BTH region is helpful for exploring the efficacy of control measures and policy making. The results indicated that the BTH region suffered two large-scale air pollution episodes (23–28 January and 8–13 February), which were characterized by elevated PM₂.₅, SO₂, NO₂, and CO concentrations, while the O₃ concentration decreased by 1.5%–33.9% (except in Shijiazhuang, where it increased by 16.6% during the second episode). These large-scale air pollution episodes were dominated by unfavorable meteorological conditions comprising a low wind speed and increased relative humidity. The transport pathways and source distribution were explored using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), potential source contribution function (PSCF), and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) models. The air pollution in the BTH region was mainly affected by local emission sources during the first episode, which contributed 51.6%–60.6% of the total trajectories in the BTH region with a PM₂.₅ concentration ranging from 146.2 μg/m³ to 196.7 μg/m³. The short-distance air masses from the southern and southwestern areas of the BTH region were the main transport pathways of airflow arriving in the BTH region during the second episode. These contributed 51.9%–57.9% of the total trajectories and originated in Hebei, Henan, central Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces, which were the areas contributing the most to the PM₂.₅ level and exhibited the highest PSCF and CWT values. Therefore, on the basis of local emission reduction, enhancing regional environmental cooperation and implementing a united prevention and control of air pollution are effective mitigation measures for the BTH region.