On the morning of June 24, a meeting conflating the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and the general assemblies of the members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering was held in Beijing. Professor Zhang Qiang from the Department of Earth System Science (DESS) of Tsinghua University was awarded the second prize of the National Natural Science Award in 2023 for a project completed under his leadership, “Driving Factors of Atmospheric Composition Changes and Environmental Health Effects in China” .

China stands as one of the regions experiencing the most profound alterations in atmospheric composition and exhibiting the most intricate profile of air pollution in the world. The project titled "Driving Factors of Atmospheric Composition Changes and Environmental Health Effects in China" has been spearheaded by an esteemed team comprising Zhang Qiang (Tsinghua University), He Kebin (Tsinghua University), Liu Jun (Peking University), Zheng Bo (Tsinghua University), and Zhu Tong (Peking University). Leveraging theoretical and methodological innovations, this endeavor has yielded groundbreaking achievements with significant international impacts. These accomplishments encompass the realms of elucidating long-term variability patterns of key atmospheric component emissions in China, identifying the temporal and spatial evolution trends and source attribution of atmospheric PM2.5 component concentrations, unraveling the driving factors behind atmospheric composition changes, and assessing their environmental health impacts. Consequently, this project has vigorously propelled advancements in atmospheric chemistry and significantly contributed to positioning China at the forefront of international research on atmospheric component emissions.

Figure. Driving factors of atmospheric PM2.5 changes in China.

The project has been supported by a series of national research projects, such as the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, major research projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the National Key Research and Development Program of China.

WrittenBy Zhang Qiang

Reviewed by Geng Rui