Change in Air Quality during 2014–2021 in Jinan City in China and Its Influencing Factors

Air pollution affects climate change, food production, traffic safety, and human health. In this paper, we analyze the changes in air quality index (AQI) and concentrations of six air pollutants in Jinan during 2014–2021. The results indicate that the annual average concentrations of PM(10), PM(2.5), NO(2), SO(2), CO, and O(3) and AQI values all declined year after year during 2014–2021. Compared with 2014, AQI in Jinan City fell by 27.3% in 2021. Air quality in the four seasons of 2021 was obviously better than that in 2014. PM(2.5) concentration was the highest in winter and PM(2.5) concentration was the lowest in summer, while it was the opposite for O(3) concentration. AQI in Jinan during the COVID epoch in 2020 was remarkably lower compared with that during the same epoch in 2021. Nevertheless, air quality during the post-COVID epoch in 2020 conspicuously deteriorated compared with that in 2021. Socioeconomic elements were the main reasons for the changes in air quality. AQI in Jinan was majorly influenced by energy consumption per 10,000-yuan GDP (ECPGDP), SO(2) emissions (SDE), NOx emissions (NOE), particulate emissions (PE), PM(2.5), and PM(10). Clean policies in Jinan City played a key role in improving air quality. Unfavorable meteorological conditions led to heavy pollution weather in the winter. These results could provide a scientific reference for the control of air pollution in Jinan City.