Correlative Analysis of the Relationship between Changes in Surface Solar Radiation and Haze pollution (Atmospheric Turbidity Index) in Beijing from 1961 to 2011*

Increased aerosol or haze is the reason that solar radiation decreases, but there is no evidence to support this theory. This research aims to quantitatively analyze the contribution of air pollution to surface solar radiation (SSR) reduction in Beijing. Because there is no long-term serial ground observational aerosol data, in order to reflect the atmospheric pollution and aerosol levels, we developed an atmospheric turbidity index (ATI).Monthly and annual variations in the ATI are significantly correlated with aerosol optical depth (AOD), and ATI could well reflect the change of air pollution. The ATI and SSR are significantly negatively correlated. The changes in the Beijing SSR presented a clear decreasing trend. From the inter-annual variability, the SSR exhibited a rapidly declining trend from 1960 to approximately1990 and a gradual increasing trend after 1990. The atmosphere turbidity index in the Beijing area was the main factor which indicated the change in SSR.