LAUSR

Abstract. Long term measurements of air pollutants represented the footprints of emissions to some extent, which could provide useful and consecutive evolution of emissions. Both atmospheric concentrations and emissions of many air pollutants have been reported decreasing in the past decade due to the implement of various control measures in China, which were different for non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) with increasing emissions as reported previously. The present study employed the long-term (2009–2015) NMHCs measurements as well as the related social and economic activities data in Shanghai, a megacity in eastern China, to explore the evolution of NMHCs emissions during the periods. The meteorology and photochemistry which might impact the NMHCs measurements were tested as negligible effects on an annual scale. As a result, NMHCs mixing ratio showed no statistic interannual changes, of which compositions varied significantly. This resulted a statistically decreasing trend of ozone formation potential by 3.8 % yr−1 (p