Study on the gravity center evolution of air pollution in Yangtze River Delta of China

With the rapid development of China’s economy, air pollution is becoming extremely serious. The spatial–temporal evolution of air pollution is conducive to the management of air pollution. The paper is proceeded into three steps. Firstly, based on the generalization principal component analysis method, the comprehensive air pollution evaluation index is established. Then, the gravity center model is utilized to explore the spatial–temporal evolution of air pollution in Yangtze River Delta from January 2014 to December 2016. Finally, the contribution decomposition method is utilized to explore the contribution to gravity center evolution. The main results are as follows: (1) The air pollution have obvious seasonal and regional differences in Yangtze River Delta. (2) The gravity center of air pollution continues to westward after 2014 with the characteristic of the north–south circular movement. (3) Hefei City and Yangzhou City have huge impact on the gravity center evolution of air pollution. The conclusions could be helpful for Chinese government to control the air pollution in Yangtze River Delta.