Spatially and Temporally Differentiated NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> and VOCs Emission Abatement Could Effectively Gain O<sub>3</sub>-Related Health Benefits
Zhaoxin Dong, Yueqi Jiang, Shuxiao Wang, Jia Xing, Dian Ding, Haotian Zheng, Hongli Wang, Cheng Huang, Dejia Yin, Qian Song, Bin Zhao, Jiming Hao
Abstract
The increasing level of O 3 pollution in China significantly exacerbates the long-term O 3 health damage, and an optimized health-oriented strategy for NO x and VOCs emission abatement is needed. Here, we developed an integrated evaluation and optimization system for the O 3 control strategy by merging a response surface model for the O 3 -related mortality and an optimization module. Applying this system to the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), we evaluated driving factors for mortality changes from 2013 to 2017, quantified spatial and temporal O 3 -related mortality responses to precursor emission abatement, and optimized a health-oriented control strategy. Results indicate that insufficient NO x emission abatement combined with deficient VOCs control from 2013 to 2017 aggravated O 3 -related mortality, particularly during spring and autumn. Northern YRD should promote VOCs control due to higher VOC-limited characteristics, whereas fastening NO x emission abatement is more favorable in southern YRD. Moreover, promotion of NO x mitigation in late spring and summer and facilitating VOCs control in spring and autumn could further reduce O 3 -related mortality by nearly 10% compared to the control strategy without seasonal differences. These findings highlight that a spatially and temporally differentiated NO x and VOCs emission control strategy could gain more O 3 -related health benefits, offering valuable insights to regions with severe ozone pollution all over the world.