Han Zhiwei1，2， Liao Hong3a，3b， Wang Tijian4， Che Huizheng5， Ding Aijun6，4， Song Yu7， Zhu Bin3c，Wu Jian8
1. State Key Laboratory of Earth System Numerical Modeling and Application， Institute of Atmospheric Physics， Chinese Academy of Sciences， Beijing 100029， China；2. College of Earth and Planetary Sciences， University of Chinese Academy of Sciences， Beijing 101408， China；3a. State Key Laboratory of Climate System Prediction and Risk Management， 3b. School of Environmental Science and Engineering， 3c. School of Atmospheric Physics， Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology， Nanjing 210044， China；4. School of Atmospheric Sciences， Nanjing University， Nanjing 210023， China；5. Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences， Beijing 100081， China；6. Nanjing-Helsinki Institute in Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences， Nanjing University， Suzhou 215163， China；7. College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering， Peking University， Beijing 100871， China；8. School of Earth Sciences， Yunnan University， Kunming 650500， China
Abstract
Significance This paper summarizes the research progress on aerosol radiative and weather-climate effects in China， aiming to provide references for the further understanding of aerosol physicochemical processes and accurate evaluation and formulation of win-win strategies for environmental protection and climate change response.
Progress It reviews the major advances and current understanding of aerosol radiative and climate effects in China over the past 15 years， covering the following key aspects： the negative direct radiative effect （cooling） of aerosols at the surface and their positive direct radiative effect （heating） in the atmosphere， along with their spatiotemporal heterogeneity； the critical impacts of aerosol–radiation–cloud interactions and feedbacks on meteorology， atmospheric chemistry， and the occurrence and development of haze； the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the aerosol–cloud microphysics relationship， which is closely related to aerosol properties， atmospheric dynamics， and water vapor conditions； and the significant impacts of aerosols on the East Asian monsoon and precipitation， which can affect the onset， advancement， retreat， and intensity of the monsoon. Under the Clean Air Action Plan and future carbon neutrality pathways， the radiative and weather-climate effects of aerosols have undergone and will continue to undergo important changes， and aerosols will play a crucial role in future environmental protection and climate change response.
Conclusions and ProspectsThe understanding of the physicochemical properties and variation patterns of aerosols （such as particle size distribution， mixing state， aging processes， hygroscopic growth， etc.） and their influencing factors remains insufficient. Aerosol properties and their variations directly affect aerosol scattering and absorption capabilities， as well as their ability to serve as cloud condensation nuclei （CCN） and ice nuclei， thereby influencing the estimation of radiative effects. Therefore， it is necessary to strengthen integrated chemistry-meteorology observations and the application of satellite data to support research on aerosol processes and mechanisms. Considerable uncertainties remain regarding the relationship between aerosol properties and cloud physical properties， as well as their interaction mechanisms. The features obtained from ground-based， aircraft， and satellite observation analyses are affected by different spatiotemporal conditions， and the universal mechanism of aerosol-cloud interactions in China has not yet been clarified. Under future emission reduction and carbon neutrality scenarios， the importance of aerosol-cloud interactions for climate change may exceed that of aerosol-radiation interactions. Therefore， greater research efforts are required in this field. Meanwhile， anthropogenic aerosol concentrations are expected to decrease， while the climatic impacts of changes in natural-source aerosols will become increasingly significant. In the past， greater attention was paid to anthropogenic aerosols due to pollution issues， but China’s current research on natural aerosols （such as dust， marine aerosols， bioaerosols， wildfire aerosols， etc.） remains relatively limited， lacking a systematic understanding of the properties， processes， and mechanisms of natural aerosols. Aerosol-climate models require further development， especially in developing reasonable and effective parameterization schemes for aerosol morphology and structure， aging processes， and aerosol-cloud interactions. More laboratory data （chemical reaction coefficients， etc.）， field observations （free radicals， particle size distributions and chemical compositions， vertical distributions， etc.）， and satellite retrieval data （aerosol size and composition， CCN， volatile organic compounds， etc.） are required to constrain and validate model results across multiple spatiotemporal scales. Machine learning methods can also be leveraged to improve the models’ability to simulate and predict aerosol radiative and climate effects.
Keywords： atmospheric aerosols； aerosol–radiation–cloud interaction； climate effects； clean air； carbon neutrality
Get Citation:Han Zhiwei， Liao Hong， Wang Tijian， et al. Research progress on aerosol radiative and weather-climate effects in China［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2027， 33（2）： 1-13.
Received： 2026-07-16， Revised： 2026-08-29， Online： 2026-09-11。
Funding： This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42375107).
CLC No.：P4； P402； TB44
Type Code：A
Serial No.：1008-5548（2027）02-0001-13
