[Spatial and Temporal Distribution Characteristics of Ozone Concentration and Health Benefit Assessment in the...

To evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of ambient ozone (O₃) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) Region, the land use regression (LUR) model and random forest (RF) model were used to simulate the ambient O₃ concentration from 2015 to 2020. Meanwhile, all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortalities as well as economic losses attributed to O₃ were also estimated. The results showed that upward trends with fluctuation were observed for ambient O₃ concentration, mortalities, and economic losses attributable to O₃ exposure in the BTH Region from 2015 to 2020. The areas with high O₃ concentration and great changes were concentrated in the central and southwestern regions, whereas the concentration in the northern region was low, and the change degree was small. The spatial distribution of the mortalities was also consistent with the spatial distribution of O₃ concentration. From 2015 to 2020, the economic losses regarding all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality increased in 13 cities of the BTH Region, whereas the economic losses of respiratory mortality decreased in 4 cities in the BTH Region. The results indicated that the priority areas for O₃ control were not uniform. Specifically, Beijing, Tianjin, Hengshui, and Xingtai were vital areas for O₃ pollution control in the BTH Region. Differentiated control measures should be adopted based on the characteristics of these target areas to decline O₃ concentration and reduce health impacts and economic losses associated with O₃ exposure.