The Impact of Winter Heating on Air Pollution in China

Fossil-fuel combustion related winter heating has become a major air quality and public health concern in northern China recently. We analyzed the impact of winter heating on aerosol loadings over China using the MODIS-Aqua Collection 6 aerosol product from 2004-2012. Absolute humidity (AH) and planetary boundary layer height (PBL)-adjusted aerosol optical depth (AOD*) was constructed to reflect ground-level PM2.5 concentrations. GIS analysis, standard statistical tests, and statistical modeling indicate that winter heating is an important factor causing increased PM2.5 levels in more than three-quarters of central and eastern China. The heating season AOD* was more than five times higher as the nonheating season AOD*, and the increase in AOD* in the heating areas was greater than in the non-heating areas. Finally, central heating tend to contribute less to air pollution relative to other means of household heating.