Jing Cheng

All Publications

• Efficacy of China's clean air actions to tackle PM_2.5 pollution between 2013 and 2020 NATURE GEOSCIENCE Geng, G., Liu, Y., Liu, Y., Liu, S., Cheng, J., Yan, L., Wu, N., Hu, H., Tong, D., Zheng, B., Yin, Z., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41561-024-01540-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 001315624500001

• Amplified positive effects on air quality, health, and renewable energy under China's carbon neutral target NATURE GEOSCIENCE Qin, Y., Zhou, M., Hao, Y., Huang, X., Tong, D., Huang, L., Zhang, C., Cheng, J., Gu, W., Wang, L., He, X., Zhou, D., Chen, Q., Ding, A., Zhu, T. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41561-024-01425-1

  View details for Web of Science ID 001229998100001

• China's carbon-neutral policies will reduce short-term PM2.5-associated excess incidence of cardiovascular diseases. One earth (Cambridge, Mass.) Ban, J., Cheng, J., Zhang, C., Lu, K., Zhou, Z., Liu, Z., Chen, Y., Wang, C., Cai, W., Gong, P., Luo, Y., Tong, D., Hu, J., Guo, X., Hao, J., Li, T. 2024; 7 (3): 497-505

  Abstract

  China's carbon-neutral target could have benefits for ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-associated mortality. Although previous studies have researched such benefits, the potential impact on cardiovascular disease incidence burden is yet to be investigated thoroughly. Here, we first estimate the association between short-term PM2.5 exposure and the incidence of stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) via a case-crossover study before projecting future changes in short-term PM2.5-associated excess incidence across China from 2025 to 2060 under three different emission scenarios. We find that, compared to the 2015-2020 baseline, average PM2.5 concentrations nationwide in 2060 under SSP119 (an approximation of a carbon-neutral scenario) are projected to decrease by 81.07%. The short-term PM2.5-related excess incidence of stroke and CHD is projected to be reduced to 3,352 cases (95% confidence interval: 939, 5,738)-compared with 34,485 cases under a medium-emissions scenario (SSP245)-and is expected to be accompanied by a 95% reduction in the related economic burden. China's carbon-neutral policies are likely to bring health benefits for cardiovascular disease by reducing short-term PM2.5-related incidence burden.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.oneear.2024.01.006

  View details for PubMedID 38532982

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10962059

• Cost-effectiveness uncertainty may bias the decision of coal power transitions in China. Nature communications Yan, X., Tong, D., Zheng, Y., Liu, Y., Chen, S., Qin, X., Chen, C., Xu, R., Cheng, J., Shi, Q., Zheng, D., He, K., Zhang, Q., Lei, Y. 2024; 15 (1): 2272

  Abstract

  A transition away from coal power always maintains a high level of complexity as there are several overlapping considerations such as technical feasibility, economic costs, and environmental and health impacts. Here, we explore the cost-effectiveness uncertainty brought by policy implementation disturbances of different coal power phaseout and new-built strategies (i.e., the disruption of phaseout priority) in China based on a developed unit-level uncertainty assessment framework. We reveal the opportunity and risk of coal transition decisions by employing preference analysis. We find that, the uncertainty of a policy implementation might lead to potential delays in yielding the initial positive annual net benefits. For example, a delay of six years might occur when implementing the prior phaseout practice. A certain level of risk remains in the implementation of the phaseout policy, as not all strategies can guarantee the cumulative positive net benefits from 2018-2060. Since the unit-level heterogeneities shape diverse orientation of the phaseout, the decision-making preferences would remarkably alter the selection of a coal power transition strategy. More strikingly, the cost-effectiveness uncertainty might lead to missed opportunities in identifying anoptimal strategy. Our results highlight the importance of minimizing the policy implementation disturbance, which helps mitigate the risk of negative benefits and strengthen the practicality of phaseout decisions.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-46549-5

  View details for PubMedID 38480703

• Heterogeneities in Regional Air Pollutant Emission Mitigation Across China During 2012-2020 EARTHS FUTURE Zhao, H., He, W., Cheng, J., Liu, Y., Zheng, Y., Tian, H., He, K., Lei, Y., Zhang, Q. 2024; 12 (3)

  View details for DOI 10.1029/2023EF004139

  View details for Web of Science ID 001173245600001

• Co-benefits of transport demand reductions from compact urban development in Chinese cities NATURE SUSTAINABILITY Fu, X., Cheng, J., Peng, L., Zhou, M., Tong, D., Mauzerall, D. L. 2024; 7 (3)

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41893-024-01271-4

  View details for Web of Science ID 001158938700001

• MEIC-global-CO₂: A new global CO₂ emission inventory with highly-resolved source category and sub-country information SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES Xu, R., Tong, D., Xiao, Q., Qin, X., Chen, C., Yan, L., Cheng, J., Cui, C., Hu, H., Liu, W., Yan, X., Wang, H., Liu, X., Geng, G., Lei, Y., Guan, D., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2024; 67 (2): 450-465

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11430-023-1230-3

  View details for Web of Science ID 001118867800001

• Air pollution health burden embodied in China's supply chains. Environmental science and ecotechnology Zhao, H., Wu, R., Liu, Y., Cheng, J., Geng, G., Zheng, Y., Tian, H., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2023; 16: 100264

  Abstract

  Product trade plays an increasing role in relocating production and the associated air pollution impact among sectors and regions. While a comprehensive depiction of atmospheric pollution redistribution through trade chains is missing, which may hinder targeted clean air cooperation among sectors and regions. Here, we combined five state-of-the-art models from physics, economy, and epidemiology to track the anthropogenic fine particle matters (PM2.5) related premature mortality along the supply chains within China in 2017. Our results highlight the key sectors that affect PM2.5-related mortality from both production and consumption perspectives. The consumption-based effects from food, light industry, equipment, construction, and services sectors, caused 2-22 times higher deaths than those from a production perspective and totally contributed 63% of the national total. From a cross-boundary perspective, 25.7% of China's PM2.5-related deaths were caused by interprovincial trade, with the largest transfer occurring from the central and northern regions to well-developed east coast provinces. Capital investment dominated the cross-boundary effect (56% of the total) by involving substantial equipment and construction products, which greatly rely on product exports from regions with specific resources. This supply chain-based analysis provides a comprehensive quantification and may inform more effective joint-control efforts among associated regions and sectors from a health risk perspective.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ese.2023.100264

  View details for PubMedID 37065008

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10091032

• Plant-by-plant decarbonization strategies for the global steel industry NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE Xu, R., Tong, D., Davis, S. J., Qin, X., Cheng, J., Shi, Q., Liu, Y., Chen, C., Yan, L., Yan, X., Wang, H., Zheng, D., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41558-023-01808

  View details for Web of Science ID 001067355300001

• A synergistic approach to air pollution control and carbon neutrality in China can avoid millions of premature deaths annually by 2060 ONE EARTH Cheng, J., Tong, D., Liu, Y., Geng, G., Davis, S. J., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2023; 6 (8): 978-989

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.oneear.2023.07.007

  View details for Web of Science ID 001070966700001

• Drivers of Increasing Ozone during the Two Phases of Clean Air Actions in China 2013-2020. Environmental science & technology Liu, Y., Geng, G., Cheng, J., Liu, Y., Xiao, Q., Liu, L., Shi, Q., Tong, D., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2023

  Abstract

  In response to the severe air pollution issue, the Chinese government implemented two phases (Phase I, 2013-2017; Phase II, 2018-2020) of clean air actions since 2013, resulting in a significant decline in fine particles (PM2.5) during 2013-2020, while the warm-season (April-September) mean maximum daily 8 h average ozone (MDA8 O3) increased by 2.6 μg m-3 yr-1 in China during the same period. Here, we derived the drivers behind the rising O3 concentrations during the two phases of clean air actions by using a bottom-up emission inventory, a regional chemical transport model, and a multiple linear regression model. We found that both meteorological variations (3.6 μg m-3) and anthropogenic emissions (6.7 μg m-3) contributed to the growth of MDA8 O3 from 2013 to 2020, with the changes in anthropogenic emissions playing a more important role. The anthropogenic contributions to the O3 rise during 2017-2020 (1.2 μg m-3) were much lower than that in 2013-2017 (5.2 μg m-3). The lack of volatile organic compound (VOC) control and the decline in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were responsible for the O3 increase in 2013-2017 due to VOC-limited regimes in most urban areas, while the synergistic control of VOC and NOx in Phase II initially worked to mitigate O3 pollution during 2018-2020, although its effectiveness was offset by the penalty of PM2.5 decline. Future mitigation efforts should pay more attention to the simultaneous control of VOC and NOx to improve O3 air quality.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.est.3c00054

  View details for PubMedID 37276527

• A striking growth of CO₂ emissions from the global cement industry driven by new facilities in emerging countries ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS Chen, C., Xu, R., Tong, D., Qin, X., Cheng, J., Liu, J., Zheng, B., Yan, L., Zhang, Q. 2022; 17 (4)

  View details for DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/ac48b5

  View details for Web of Science ID 000766863000001

• Role of climate goals and clean-air policies on reducing future air pollution deaths in China: a modelling study. The Lancet. Planetary health Liu, Y., Tong, D., Cheng, J., Davis, S. J., Yu, S., Yarlagadda, B., Clarke, L. E., Brauer, M., Cohen, A. J., Kan, H., Xue, T., Zhang, Q. 2022; 6 (2): e92-e99

  Abstract

  Over 3 million people die every year from diseases caused by exposure to outdoor PM2·5 air pollution, and more than a quarter of these premature deaths occur in China. In addition to clean-air policies that target pollution emissions, climate policies aimed at reducing fossil-fuel CO2 emissions (eg, to avoid 1·5°C of warming) might also greatly improve air quality and public health. However, no comprehensive accounting of public health outcomes has been done under different energy pathways and local clean-air management decisions in China. We aimed to develop an integrated method for quantifying the health co-benefits from different climate, energy, and clean-air policy scenarios and to assess the relationship between climate and clean-air policies and future health burdens in China, where an ageing population will further exacerbate the effects of air pollution.For this modelling study, we used a China-focused integrated assessment model and a dynamic emission projection model to project future Chinese air quality in scenarios spanning a range of global climate targets (1·5°C, 2°C, national determined contributions [NDC], unambitious, baseline, and 4·5°C) and national clean-air actions (termed 2015-pollution, current-pollution, and ambitious-pollution). We then evaluated the health effects of PM2·5 air pollution in the scenario matrix using the air quality model and the latest epidemiological concentration-response functions from the 2019 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study.We found that, without ambitious climate mitigation (eg, under current NDC pledge), Chinese deaths related to PM2·5 air pollution might not always decrease-and might often grow-by 2050 compared with the base year of 2015, regardless of clean-air policies and air quality improvements. For example, in the scenario that tracks China's current NDC pledge and uses the best available pollution control technologies (the ambitious-pollution and NDC goals scenario), PM2·5-related deaths in China would decrease slightly by 2030 to 1·23 million per year (95% CI 0·95-1·51) from 1·25 million (1·04-1·46) in 2015, but would not decrease further by 2050 (1·21 million, 0·86-1·60) despite substantial and continuous improvements in population-weighted air quality (from 27·2 μg/m3 in 2030 to 16·0 μg/m3 in 2050). The contrary trends of improving air quality and increasing PM2·5-related deaths in many of our scenarios revealed the extent to which extra efforts are needed to compensate for the increasing age of China's population in the future. With the scenarios that included ambitious clean-air policies and met international climate goals to avoid 1·5°C and 2°C of warming (the ambitious-pollution-2°C goals scenario and the ambitious-pollution-1·5°C goals scenario), we observed substantial decreases in China's PM2·5-related deaths of 0·32-0·55 million deaths compared with NDC goals in 2050, and age-standardised death rates decreased by 10·2-14·2 deaths per 100 000 population per year.Our results show that ambitious climate policies (ie, limiting global average temperature rise to well below 2°C) and low-carbon energy transitions coupled with stringent clean-air policies are necessary to substantially reduce the human health effects from air pollution in China, regardless of socioeconomic assumptions. Our findings could help policy makers understand the crucial links between climate policy and public health.The National Natural Science Foundation of China.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00326-0

  View details for PubMedID 35150635

• Pathways of China's PM2.5 air quality 2015-2060 in the context of carbon neutrality NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW Cheng, J., Tong, D., Zhang, Q., Liu, Y., Lei, Y., Yan, G., Yan, L., Yu, S., Cui, R., Clarke, L., Geng, G., Zheng, B., Zhang, X., Davis, S. J., He, K. 2021; 8 (12): nwab078

  Abstract

  Clean air policies in China have substantially reduced particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution in recent years, primarily by curbing end-of-pipe emissions. However, reaching the level of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines may instead depend upon the air quality co-benefits of ambitious climate action. Here, we assess pathways of Chinese PM2.5 air quality from 2015 to 2060 under a combination of scenarios that link global and Chinese climate mitigation pathways (i.e. global 2°C- and 1.5°C-pathways, National Determined Contributions (NDC) pledges and carbon neutrality goals) to local clean air policies. We find that China can achieve both its near-term climate goals (peak emissions) and PM2.5 air quality annual standard (35 μg/m3) by 2030 by fulfilling its NDC pledges and continuing air pollution control policies. However, the benefits of end-of-pipe control reductions are mostly exhausted by 2030, and reducing PM2.5 exposure of the majority of the Chinese population to below 10 μg/m3 by 2060 will likely require more ambitious climate mitigation efforts such as China's carbon neutrality goals and global 1.5°C-pathways. Our results thus highlight that China's carbon neutrality goals will play a critical role in reducing air pollution exposure to the level of the WHO guidelines and protecting public health.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/nsr/nwab078

  View details for Web of Science ID 000736097900006

  View details for PubMedID 34987838

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8692930

• Health co-benefits of climate change mitigation depend on strategic power plant retirements and pollution controls NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE Tong, D., Geng, G., Zhang, Q., Cheng, J., Qin, X., Hong, C., He, K., Davis, S. J. 2021; 11 (12): 1077-+

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41558-021-01216-1

  View details for Web of Science ID 000723552200006

• Tracking Air Pollution in China: Near Real-Time PM2.5 Retrievals from Multisource Data Fusion. Environmental science & technology Geng, G., Xiao, Q., Liu, S., Liu, X., Cheng, J., Zheng, Y., Xue, T., Tong, D., Zheng, B., Peng, Y., Huang, X., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2021; 55 (17): 12106-12115

  Abstract

  Air pollution has altered the Earth's radiation balance, disturbed the ecosystem, and increased human morbidity and mortality. Accordingly, a full-coverage high-resolution air pollutant data set with timely updates and historical long-term records is essential to support both research and environmental management. Here, for the first time, we develop a near real-time air pollutant database known as Tracking Air Pollution in China (TAP, http://tapdata.org.cn/) that combines information from multiple data sources, including ground observations, satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD), operational chemical transport model simulations, and other ancillary data such as meteorological fields, land use data, population, and elevation. Daily full-coverage PM2.5 data at a spatial resolution of 10 km is our first near real-time product. The TAP PM2.5 is estimated based on a two-stage machine learning model coupled with the synthetic minority oversampling technique and a tree-based gap-filling method. Our model has an averaged out-of-bag cross-validation R2 of 0.83 for different years, which is comparable to those of other studies, but improves its performance at high pollution levels and fills the gaps in missing AOD on daily scale. The full coverage and near real-time updates of the daily PM2.5 data allow us to track the day-to-day variations in PM2.5 concentrations over China in a timely manner. The long-term records of PM2.5 data since 2000 will also support policy assessments and health impact studies. The TAP PM2.5 data are publicly available through our website for sharing with the research and policy communities.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.est.1c01863

  View details for PubMedID 34407614

• Comparison of Current and Future PM2.5 Air Quality in China Under CMIP6 and DPEC Emission Scenarios GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Cheng, J., Tong, D., Liu, Y., Yu, S., Yan, L., Zheng, B., Geng, G., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2021; 48 (11)

  View details for DOI 10.1029/2021GL093197

  View details for Web of Science ID 000663558200007

• Mapping anthropogenic emissions in China at 1 km spatial resolution and its application in air quality modeling. Science bulletin Zheng, B., Cheng, J., Geng, G., Wang, X., Li, M., Shi, Q., Qi, J., Lei, Y., Zhang, Q., He, K. 2021; 66 (6): 612-620

  Abstract

  New challenges are emerging in fine-scale air quality modeling in China due to a lack of high-resolution emission maps. Currently, only a few emission sources have accurate geographic locations (point sources), while a large part of sources, including industrial plants, are estimated as provincial totals (area sources) and spatially disaggregated onto grid cells based on proxies; this approach is reasonable to some extent but is highly questionable at fine spatial resolutions. Here, we compile a new comprehensive point source database that includes nearly 100,000 industrial facilities in China. We couple it with the frame of Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC), estimate point source emissions, combine point and area sources, and finally map China's anthropogenic emissions of 2013 at the spatial resolution of 30″×30″ (~1 km). Consequently, the percentages of point source emissions in the total emissions increase from less than 30% in the MEIC up to a maximum of 84% for SO2 in 2013. The new point source-based emission maps show the uncoupled distribution of emissions and populations in space at fine spatial scales, however, such a pattern cannot be reproduced by any spatial proxy used in the conventional emissions mapping. This new accurate high-resolution emission mapping approach reduces the modeled biases of air pollutant concentrations in the densely populated areas compared to the raw MEIC inventory, thus improving the assessment of population exposure.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.scib.2020.12.008

  View details for PubMedID 36654431

• Carbon and air pollutant emissions from China's cement industry 1990-2015: trends, evolution of technologies, and drivers ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Liu, J., Tong, D., Zheng, Y., Cheng, J., Qin, X., Shi, Q., Yan, L., Lei, Y., Zhang, Q. 2021; 21 (3): 1627-1647

  View details for DOI 10.5194/acp-21-1627-2021

  View details for Web of Science ID 000618622700002

• Evaluation of gap-filling approaches in satellite-based daily PM_2.5 prediction models ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT Xiao, Q., Geng, G., Cheng, J., Liang, F., Li, R., Meng, X., Xue, T., Huang, X., Kan, H., Zhang, Q., He, K. 2021; 244

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117921

  View details for Web of Science ID 000591733300002

• Air quality and health benefits of China's current and upcoming clean air policies. Faraday discussions Cheng, J., Tong, D., Liu, Y., Bo, Y., Zheng, B., Geng, G., He, K., Zhang, Q. 2020

  Abstract

  China is currently in a crucial stage of air pollution control and has intensive clean air policies. Past strict policies have demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in emission control and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution mitigation; however, it is not clear what the continuous benefits of current policies are for the future. Here, we summarize China's currently implemented, released, and upcoming clean air policies and estimate the air quality and health benefits of the implementation of these policies until 2030. We found that China's current and upcoming clean air policies could reduce major pollutant emissions by 14.3-70.5% under continued socio-economic growth from 2010 to 2030. These policies could decrease the national population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations from 61.6 mug m-3 in 2010 to 26.4 mug m-3 in 2030 (57.2% reduction). These air quality improvements will ensure that over 80% of the population lives in areas with PM2.5 levels below the current annual PM2.5 air quality standard (i.e., 35 mug m-3) and will avoid 95.0 (95% CI, 76.3, 104.2) thousand premature deaths in 2030. We also point out several inadequacies of current clean air policies, suggesting that more ambitious control actions are needed to better protect public health with an increasing ageing population. Our findings could provide quantitative insights that can be used to better address air pollution issues in China and other developing countries.

  View details for DOI 10.1039/d0fd00090f

  View details for PubMedID 33237081

• Dynamic projection of anthropogenic emissions in China: methodology and 2015-2050 emission pathways under a range of socio-economic, climate policy, and pollution control scenarios ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Tong, D., Cheng, J., Liu, Y., Yu, S., Yan, L., Hong, C., Qin, Y., Zhao, H., Zheng, Y., Geng, G., Li, M., Liu, F., Zhang, Y., Zheng, B., Clarke, L., Zhang, Q. 2020; 20 (9): 5729–57

  View details for DOI 10.5194/acp-20-5729-2020

  View details for Web of Science ID 000535231700001

• Energy and emission pathways towards PM2.5 air quality attainment in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by 2030. The Science of the total environment Tong, D., Geng, G., Jiang, K., Cheng, J., Zheng, Y., Hong, C., Yan, L., Zhang, Y., Chen, X., Bo, Y., Lei, Y., Zhang, Q., He, K. 2019; 692: 361-370

  Abstract

  In 2013, the Chinese government announced its first air quality standard for PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter < 2.5 μm) which requires annual mean PM2.5 concentration to achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) interim target 1 of 35 μg/m3 nationwide including the most polluted region of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH). Here, we explore the future mitigation pathways for the BTH region to investigate the possibility of air quality attainment by 2030 in that region, by developing two energy scenarios (i.e., baseline energy scenario and enhanced energy scenario) and two end-of-pipe scenarios (i.e., business as usual scenario and best available technology scenario) and simulating future air quality for different scenarios using the WRF/CMAQ model. Results showed that without stringent energy and industrial structure adjustment, even the most advanced end-of-pipe technologies did not allow the BTH region to attain the 35 μg/m3 target. Under the most stringent scenario that coupled the enhanced structure adjustment measures and the best available end-of-pipe measures, the emissions of SO2, NOx, PM2.5 and NMVOCs (nonmethane volatile organic compounds) were estimated to be reduced by 85%, 74%, 82% and 72%, respectively, in 2030 over the BTH region. As a result, the simulated annual mean PM2.5 concentrations in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei could decline to 23, 28 and 28 μg/m3, respectively, all of which achieved the 35 μg/m3 target by 2030. Our study identified a feasible pathway to achieve the 2030 target and highlighted the importance of reshaping the energy and industrial structure of the BTH region for future air pollution mitigation.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.218

  View details for PubMedID 31351280

• Drivers of improved PM2.5 air quality in China from 2013 to 2017. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Zhang, Q., Zheng, Y., Tong, D., Shao, M., Wang, S., Zhang, Y., Xu, X., Wang, J., He, H., Liu, W., Ding, Y., Lei, Y., Li, J., Wang, Z., Zhang, X., Wang, Y., Cheng, J., Liu, Y., Shi, Q., Yan, L., Geng, G., Hong, C., Li, M., Liu, F., Zheng, B., Cao, J., Ding, A., Gao, J., Fu, Q., Huo, J., Liu, B., Liu, Z., Yang, F., He, K., Hao, J. 2019

  Abstract

  From 2013 to 2017, with the implementation of the toughest-ever clean air policy in China, significant declines in fine particle (PM2.5) concentrations occurred nationwide. Here we estimate the drivers of the improved PM2.5 air quality and the associated health benefits in China from 2013 to 2017 based on a measure-specific integrated evaluation approach, which combines a bottom-up emission inventory, a chemical transport model, and epidemiological exposure-response functions. The estimated national population-weighted annual mean PM2.5 concentrations decreased from 61.8 (95%CI: 53.3-70.0) to 42.0 g/m3 (95% CI: 35.7-48.6) in 5 y, with dominant contributions from anthropogenic emission abatements. Although interannual meteorological variations could significantly alter PM2.5 concentrations, the corresponding effects on the 5-y trends were relatively small. The measure-by-measure evaluation indicated that strengthening industrial emission standards (power plants and emission-intensive industrial sectors), upgrades on industrial boilers, phasing out outdated industrial capacities, and promoting clean fuels in the residential sector were major effective measures in reducing PM2.5 pollution and health burdens. These measures were estimated to contribute to 6.6- (95% CI: 5.9-7.1), 4.4- (95% CI: 3.8-4.9), 2.8- (95% CI: 2.5-3.0), and 2.2- (95% CI: 2.0-2.5) g/m3 declines in the national PM2.5 concentration in 2017, respectively, and further reduced PM2.5-attributable excess deaths by 0.37 million (95% CI: 0.35-0.39), or 92% of the total avoided deaths. Our study confirms the effectiveness of China's recent clean air actions, and the measure-by-measure evaluation provides insights into future clean air policy making in China and in other developing and polluting countries.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1907956116

  View details for PubMedID 31740599

• Rapid transition in winter aerosol composition in Beijing from 2014 to 2017: response to clean air actions ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Li, H., Cheng, J., Zhang, Q., Zheng, B., Zhang, Y., Zheng, G., He, K. 2019; 19 (17): 11485-11499

  View details for DOI 10.5194/acp-19-11485-2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000485717800001

• Assessing the impact of clean air action on air quality trends in Beijing using a machine learning technique ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Vu, T. V., Shi, Z., Cheng, J., Zhang, Q., He, K., Wang, S., Harrison, R. M. 2019; 19 (17): 11303-11314

  View details for DOI 10.5194/acp-19-11303-2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000484560600003

• Dominant role of emission reduction in PM_2.5 air quality improvement in Beijing during 2013-2017: a model-based decomposition analysis ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS Cheng, J., Su, J., Cui, T., Li, X., Dong, X., Sun, F., Yang, Y., Tong, D., Zheng, Y., Li, Y., Li, J., Zhang, Q., He, K. 2019; 19 (9): 6125-6146

  View details for DOI 10.5194/acp-19-6125-2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000467454600001