Our analysis of fog and haze observations from the surface weather stations in China in recent 50 years （from 196l to 2011） shows that the number of fog days has experienced two-stage variations, with an increasing ...Our analysis of fog and haze observations from the surface weather stations in China in recent 50 years （from 196l to 2011） shows that the number of fog days has experienced two-stage variations, with an increasing trend before 1980 and a decreasing trend after 1990. Especially, an obvious decreasing trend after 1990 can be clearly seen, which is consistent with the decreas- ing trend of the surface relative humidity. However, the number of haze days has demonstrated an increasing trend. As such, the role of reduction of atmospheric relative humidity in the transition process from fog into haze has been further investigated. It is estimated that the mean relative humidity of haze days is about 69%, lower than previously estimated, which implies that it is more difficult for the haze particles to transform into fog drops. This is possibly one of the major environmental factors leading to the reduction of number of fog days. The threshold of the relative humidity for transition from fog into haze is about 82%, also lower than previously estimated. Thus, the reduction of the surface relative humidity in China mainly due to the in- crease of the surface temperature and the saturation specific humidity may exert an obvious impact on the environmental con- ditions for the formations of fog and haze. In addition, our investigation of the relationship between haze and visibility reveals that with the increase of haze days, the visibility has declined markedly. Since 1961, the mean visibility has dropped from 4-10 to 2-4 kin, about a half of the previous horizontal distance of visibility.展开更多
基金supported by National Key Basic Research Program of China(Grant Nos.2012CB417205 and 2013CB430202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41130960)National Science and Technology Support Program of China(Grant No.2009BAC51B02)
文摘Our analysis of fog and haze observations from the surface weather stations in China in recent 50 years （from 196l to 2011） shows that the number of fog days has experienced two-stage variations, with an increasing trend before 1980 and a decreasing trend after 1990. Especially, an obvious decreasing trend after 1990 can be clearly seen, which is consistent with the decreas- ing trend of the surface relative humidity. However, the number of haze days has demonstrated an increasing trend. As such, the role of reduction of atmospheric relative humidity in the transition process from fog into haze has been further investigated. It is estimated that the mean relative humidity of haze days is about 69%, lower than previously estimated, which implies that it is more difficult for the haze particles to transform into fog drops. This is possibly one of the major environmental factors leading to the reduction of number of fog days. The threshold of the relative humidity for transition from fog into haze is about 82%, also lower than previously estimated. Thus, the reduction of the surface relative humidity in China mainly due to the in- crease of the surface temperature and the saturation specific humidity may exert an obvious impact on the environmental con- ditions for the formations of fog and haze. In addition, our investigation of the relationship between haze and visibility reveals that with the increase of haze days, the visibility has declined markedly. Since 1961, the mean visibility has dropped from 4-10 to 2-4 kin, about a half of the previous horizontal distance of visibility.
