Effects of dust from the west of China on the particulate pollution in mid-eastern cities

This paper analysis the “Strong-sandstorm sequences and supporting dataset of China”, Air Pollution Index (API), MODIS aerosol optical thickness (AOT) product data and Aerosol Robotic Net-work (AERONET) data, get some results show that the transmission of dust from the west is an important factor to cause the declination of the air quality in mid-eastern cities, especially during March to May. The intensity, scope and duration of the dust from the west are directly related to in the declination. In addition, the latitude of the mid-eastern cities and the distance from the dust source region are also important factors. The main dust source of Xi´an is from South Xinjiang Basin, Gansu Province and Ningxia Province, and the main dust source of Beijing is from the mid-western of Inner Mongolia.