Numerical simulations of the effects of regional topography on haze pollution in Beijing

Abstract

In addition to weather conditions and pollutant emissions, the degree to which topography influences the occurrence and development of haze pollution in downtown Beijing and the mechanisms that may be involved remain open questions. A series of atmospheric chemistry simulations are executed by using the online-coupled Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model for November-December 2015 with different hypothetical topographic height scenarios. The simulation results show that topography exerts an important influence on haze pollution in downtown Beijing, particularly the typical development of haze pollution. A possible mechanism that underlies the response of haze pollution to topography is that the mountains that surround Beijing tend to produce anomalous southerly winds, high relative humidity, low boundary layer heights, and sinking motion over most of Beijing. These conditions favor the formation and development of haze pollution in downtown Beijing. Furthermore, the reduction percentage in PM2.5 concentrations due to reduced terrain height in the southerly wind (S) mode is almost three times larger than that in the northerly wind (N) mode. In the context of the regional topography, the simple S and N modes represent useful indicators for haze prediction in Beijing to some extent, especially over medium to long time scales.