Research on the Impact of Lightning on Near-Surface Ozone Concentration
Tang Yun
Liu Duanyang
Miao Qian
Feng Yang
Xie Zhenzhen
Wu Xinyu
Duan Hong
Abstract：With the advancement of air pollution control efforts in China,particulate matter pollution has gradually decreased,while ozone pollution has become increasingly severe.The formation mechanism of ozone is complex,and the impact of lightning activity on ozone formation remains unclear.To investi-gate the influence of lightning activity on near-surface ozone concentration,the relationship between light-ning and ozone concentration is analyzed based on lightning monitoring data and ozone concentration data from 2013 to 2022.By typical processes of high ozone concentration and high-frequency lightning,the occurrence and development mechanisms of ozone pollution episodes are explored.The results show that between 2013 and 2022,a total of 140698 lightning events occurred in Huai'an urban area,with an an-nual average of 14069.8 events/year.The lightning density at the selected ozone monitoring stations ranged from 2.8 to 4.2 events/(km2·a).The hourly ozone concentration in Huai'an urban area mostly ranged between 33 and 138 μg/m3.The median ozone concentration on lightning days was higher than that on non-lightning days,with the Beijing South Road station in the old urban area showing the largest average ozone concentration change,reaching 21.7%.Lightning consistently caused an increase in ozone concentration within two hours of its occurrence,showing a strengthening trend.The average increase in ozone concentration ranged from 1 to 142 μg/m3,with an average growth rate exceeding 25%.The num-ber of lightning strikes was positively correlated with ozone concentration.Cloud-to-ground lightning showed a strong correlation with ozone concentration both during and 1-2 hours after the lightning event.The relatively high nighttime ozone values may result from the transport of ozone produced by strong tropo-sphere thunderstorms through downdrafts,creating a superimposed effect on the high near-surface ozone concentrations.In the Yangtze River Delta region,when the 8-hour average ozone concentration is around 25%below the exceeding threshold,if lightning occurs,the ozone exceeding warning can be considered two hours in advance with reference to the analysis results from Huai'an urban area.
Keywords：lightningozoneair pollutionHuai'an
Publication Date：2026-03-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：10( 60-69 )