Increased secondary aerosol contribution and possible processing on polluted winter days in China

China experiences severe particulate pollution, especially in winter, and determining the characteristics of particulate matter (PM) during pollution events is imperative for understanding the sources and causes of the pollution. However, inconsistencies have been found in the aerosol composition, sources and secondary processing among reported studies. Modern meta-analysis was used to probe the PM chemical characteristics and processing in winter at four representative regions of China, and the first finding was that secondary aerosol formation was the major effect factor for PM pollution. The secondary inorganic species behaved differently in the four regions: sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium increased in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) and Guanzhong (GZ) areas, but only nitrate increased in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) regions. The increased production of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was probably caused by aqueous-phase processing in the GZ and BTH regions and by photochemical reactions in the PRD. Finally, we suggest future AMS/ACSM observations should focus on the aerosol characteristics in rural areas in winter in China. [Display omitted] •A Meta-analysis was conducted to characterize aerosol pollution in winter in China•Particulate pollution are driven by secondary formation•The SOA formation was attributed to aqueous processing in northern China•The SOA formation was attributed to photochemical reactions in the PRD region