Nitrate and secondary organic aerosol dominated particle light extinction in Beijing due to clean air action

Abstract Air quality in China has been continuously improved since clean air action in 2013, yet the visibility was not improved simultaneously. Here we employed a new method by integrating highly time-resolved aerosol compositions with particle light extinction (bext) into positive matrix factorization to quantify the different contributors to visibility degradation during four seasons in Beijing. Our results show that ammonium nitrate-related factor contributed dominantly to bext during all seasons (31–48%) and played more significant roles during low-visibility periods. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was an important contributor of bext (27–35%) in autumn and spring while primary OA related sources were more important in winter (37%). An increase in aerosol mass extinction efficiency and similarly important roles of ammonium nitrate and SOA in visibility degradation were also observed during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Our results point towards a future challenge in improving visibility in China due to the increased contributions of nitrate and SOA in PM2.5. Future emission controls with a priority to decrease nitrate would benefit both air quality and visibility.