Changes in black carbon and PM(2.5) in Tokyo in 2003–2017

Black carbon (BC) particles cause adverse health effects and contribute to the heating of the atmosphere by absorbing visible solar radiation. Efforts have been made to reduce BC emissions, especially in urban areas; however, long-term measurements of BC mass concentration (M(BC)) are very limited in Japan. We report M(BC) measurements conducted in Tokyo from 2003 to 2017, showing that M(BC) decreased by a factor of 3 from 2003 to 2010 and was stable from 2010 to 2017. Fine particulate concentrations (PM(2.5)) decreased by a much smaller factor during 2003–2010. The diurnal variations of BC size distributions suggest that the BC in Tokyo originates mainly from local sources, even after 2010. Our three-dimensional model calculations show that BC from the Asian continent contributes a small portion (about 20%) of the annual average M(BC) in the Kanto region of Japan, which includes Tokyo. This indicates that continued reduction of BC emissions inside Japan should be effective in further decreasing M(BC).