In review (manuscript available upon request)​​
  1. Cenlin He; Rajesh Kumar; Wenfu Tang; Gabriele Pfister; Yangyang Xu; Yun Qian; Guy Brasseur, Air pollution interactions with weather and climate extremes: current knowledge, gaps, and future directions
  2. Gul et al., Measured black carbon deposition over the central Himalayan glaciers: concentrations in surface snow and impact on snow albedo reduction
  3. ​Shao et al., East Asian summer monsoon response to anthropogenic aerosols redistribution: contrasting 1950-1980 and 1980-2010 to understand the role of non-Asian forcing
  4. Yan et al., Stronger diversification of human thermal stress conditions observed in low-income Asian countries. (preprint) 
  5. Xu et al.,  Nature-Human Interactions in the Climate System due to Mitigation-Adaptation Feedbacks Amplified by Global Climate Inequality (preprint).
  6. Xu YY and Wei SJ. The climate effects of methane. A book chapter.
  7. ​​Xu et al., A Possible Reduction of Global Cooling due to Super Eruption via Intentional Release of Fluorinated Gases (preprint)
  8. Shores and Xu. Implementing and evaluating various machine learning algorithms for estimating surface PM2.5 concentration from satellite-based AOD and other meteorological variables: a regional assessment over Texas
  9. ​Da et al., Are climate change damages on winter wheat overstated?

2023
  • Kim, Y., Li, D., Xu, Y., Zhang, Y., Li, X., Muhlenforth, L., Xue, S., & Brown, R. (2023). Heat vulnerability and street-level outdoor thermal comfort in the city of Houston: Application of google street view image derived SVFs. Urban Climate, 51, 101617. (abstract, pdf, preprint) 
  • Xiao et al., Evidence of interactive effects of late-pregnancy exposure to air pollution and extreme temperature on preterm birth in China: a nationwide study (abstract, pdf, preprint)
  • Wu, X.; Feng, Y.; He, C.; Kumar, R.; Ge, C.; Painemal, D.; Xu, Y. Implementing and Improving CBMZ-MAM3 Chemistry and Aerosol Modules in the Regional Climate Model WRF-CAM5: An Evaluation over the Western US and Eastern North Pacific. Atmosphere 2023, 14, 1122. (abstract, pdf, preprint)
  • ​Gao, M., Wang, F., Ding, Y., Wu, Z., Xu, Y., Lu, X., Wang, Z., Carmichael, G. R., & McElroy, M. B. (2023). Large-scale climate patterns offer preseasonal hints on the co-occurrence of heat wave and O3 pollution in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(26), e2218274120. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Lei, Y., Wang, Z., Wang, D. et al. Co-benefits of carbon neutrality in enhancing and stabilizing solar and wind energy. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2023).  (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • ​Li, D., Brown, R., Xu, Y., Zhang, Y., & Li, X. (2023). Assessing the Impacts of Winter Storm Uri in Subsidized Housing Developments. Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Grant Report Series, 355. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Available at: https://hazards.colorado.edu/quick-response-report/assessing-the-impacts-of-winter-storm-uri-in-subsidized-housing-developments​
​2022​
  • Xu, Y., G. Dreyfus, and D. Zaelke. New abnormal: 2022 should be a cooler year — but keeps breaking heat records​. The Hill. (link)
  • Lockley, A., Xu, Y., Tilmes, S., Sugiyama, M., Rothman, D., & Hindes, A. (2022). 18 Politically relevant solar geoengineering scenarios. Socio-Environmental Systems Modelling, 4, 18127. https://doi.org/10.18174/sesmo.18127 (pdf, preprint)
  • Gul, C., Kang, S., Puppala, S. P., Wu, X., He, C., Xu, Y., Koch, I., Muhammad, S., Kumar, R., and Dubache, G.: Measurement of light-absorbing particles in surface snow of central and western Himalayan glaciers: spatial variability, radiative impacts, and potential source regions, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8725–8737, 2022. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Dreyfus, G. B., Xu, Y., Shindell, D. T., Zaelke, D., & Ramanathan, V. (2022). Mitigating climate disruption in time: A self-consistent approach for avoiding both near-term and long-term global warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(22), e2123536119.  (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Fiore, A. M., Milly, G. P., Hancock, S. E., Quiñones, L., Bowden, J. H., Helstrom, E., et al. (2022). Characterizing changes in eastern U.S. pollution events in a warming world. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 127, e2021JD035985. (abstract, pdf)
  • Cheng, W., MacMartin, D.G., Kravitz, B. et al. Changes in Hadley circulation and intertropical convergence zone under strategic stratospheric aerosol geoengineering. npj Clim Atmos Sci 5, 32 (2022).  (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • ​Diao, C., Xu, Y. Reassessing the relative role of anthropogenic aerosols and natural decadal variability in driving the mid-twentieth century global “cooling”: a focus on the latitudinal gradient of tropospheric temperature. Clim Dyn (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-022-06235-y (pdf, supplement)
  • ​Banks, A., Kooperman, G. J., & Xu, Y. (2022). Meteorological influences on anthropogenic PM2.5 in future climates: Species level analysis in the Community Earth System Model v2. Earth's Future, 10, e2021EF002298. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Xiao, X., Xu, Y., Zhang, X., Wang, F., Lu, X., Cai, Z., Brasseur, G., & Gao, M. (2022). Amplified Upward Trend of the Joint Occurrences of Heat and Ozone Extremes in China over 2013–20. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 103(5), E1330–E1342. (abstract, pdf)
  • Xu, Y., Lin, L., Diao, C., Wang, Z., Bates, S., & Arblaster, J. (2022). The response of precipitation extremes to the twentieth- and twenty-first-century global temperature change in a comprehensive suite of CESM1 large ensemble simulation: Revisiting the role of forcing agents vs. the role of forcing magnitudes. Earth and Space Science, 9, e2021EA002010. (abstract, pdf)
  • Li, X., Zhang, Y., Li, D., Xu, Y., & Brown, R. D. (2022). Ameliorating cold stress in a hot climate: Effect of Winter Storm Uri on residents of subsidized housing neighborhoods. Building and Environment, 209, 108646.  (abstract, pdf)
  • ​Da, Y., Xu, Y. & McCarl, B. Effects of Surface Ozone and Climate on Historical (1980–2015) Crop Yields in the United States: Implication for Mid-21st Century Projection. Environ Resource Econ 81, 355–378 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-021-00629-y (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Yao, B., Xu, Y., Dessler, A.E. et al. Characterizing unforced decadal climate variability in global climate model large ensembles. Clim Dyn 58, 211–222 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-05900-y (abstract, pdf)
2021
  • Diao, C., Xu, Y., and Xie, S.-P.: Anthropogenic aerosol effects on tropospheric circulation and sea surface temperature (1980–2020): separating the role of zonally asymmetric forcings, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18499–18518, 2021. (abstract, pdf)
  • Ramanathan, V., Xu, Y. & Versaci, A. Modelling human–natural systems interactions with implications for twenty-first-century warming. Nat Sustain (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00826-z (abstract, online pdf, pdf, supplement)
  • ​Wang Z., J. Feng, C. Diao, Y. Li, L. Lin and Y. Xu (2021), Reduction in European anthropogenic aerosols and the weather conditions conducive to PM2.5 pollution in North China: a potential global teleconnection pathway. Environ. Res. Lett. Volume 16, Number 10 104054  (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Yan, Y., Xu, Y. & Yue, S. A high-spatial-resolution dataset of human thermal stress indices over South and East Asia. Sci Data 8, 229 (2021).  (abstract, pdf, code&data)
  • ​Xu, Y. Knock-on effects of heatwaves: we need to act urgently. Opinion page of Independent. (link, pdf)
  • Chen J., H. Cui, Y. Xu and Q. Ge (2021) Long-term temperature and sea-level rise stabilization before and beyond 2100: Estimating the additional climate mitigation contribution from China's recent 2060 carbon neutrality pledge. Environ. Res. Lett. 16 074032 (abstract, pdf)
  • Ocko, I. B., Sun, T., Shindell, D., Oppenheimer, M., Hristov, A. N., Pacala, S. W., Mauzerall, D. L., Xu, Y., & Hamburg, S. P. (2021). Acting rapidly to deploy readily available methane mitigation measures by sector can immediately slow global warming. Environmental Research Letters. 16 054042 (abstract, EDF press release, featured in Washington Post)
  • Gul, C., Mahapatra, P. S., Kang, S., Singh, P. K., Wu, X., He, C., Kumar, R., Rai, M., Xu, Y., & Puppala, S. P. (2021). Black carbon concentration in the central Himalayas: Impact on glacier melt and potential source contribution. Environmental Pollution, 275, 116544. (abstract, pdf)
  • Wang, Z., Lin, L., Xu, Y., Che, H., Zhang, X., Zhang, H., Dong, W., Wang, C., Gui, K., & Xie, B. (2021). Incorrect Asian aerosols affecting the attribution and projection of regional climate change in CMIP6 models. Npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 4(1), 2. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Hanna, R., Abdulla, A., Xu, Y., Victor, D. (2021) Emergency deployment of direct air capture as a response to the climate crisis. Nature Communication 12, 368 . (abstract, pdf, supplement, featured in WIRED)
​​2020
  • Wang, H., Xie, S.P., Zheng, X.T., Kosaka, Y., Xu, Y., & Geng, Y.F. (2020). Dynamics of Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation response to anthropogenic aerosol forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 47, e2020GL089919. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Xu, Y., Lin, L., Tilmes, S., Dagon, K., Xia, L., Diao, C., Cheng, W., Wang, Z., Simpson, I., and Burnell, L.: Climate engineering to mitigate the projected 21st-century terrestrial drying of the Americas: a direct comparison of carbon capture and sulfur injection, Earth Syst. Dynam., 11, 673–695, 2020. (abstract, pdf)
  • United Nations Environment Programme and International Energy Agency (2020). Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report: Benefits of cooling efficiency and the Kigali Amendment. UNEP, Nairobi and IEA, Paris. (pdf, UNEP press release)
  • ​Xu, Y., and X. Xu, Days with both extreme heat and extreme air pollution are becoming more common – which can’t be a good thing for global health. The Conversation. (link, pdf)
  • Hanna, R., Xu, Y., and Victor, D. G. (2020). After COVID-19, green investment must deliver jobs to get political traction. Nature, 582, 178–180. (abstract, pdf)
  • ​Xu, Y., Wu, X., Kumar, R., Barth, M., Diao, C., Gao, M., Lin, L., Jones, B., Meehl, G.A. (2020). Substantial increase in the joint occurrence and human exposure of heatwave and high‐PM hazards over South Asia in the mid‐21st century. AGU Advances, 1, e2019AV000103. (abstract, pdf, supplement, TAMU press release, NCAR press release, AGU blog, EOS highlight, Wiley video abstract, featured in Climate News Network)
  • ​Chen, F., Chen, S., Zhang, X., Chen, J., Wang, X., Gowan, E. J., Qiang, M., Dong, G., Wang, Z., Li, Y., Xu, Q., Xu, Y., Smol, J. P., & Liu, J. (2020). Asian dust-storm activity dominated by Chinese dynasty changes since 2000 BP. Nature Communications, 11(1), 992.   (abstract, pdf)
  • ​Feng, W., Wang, M., Zhang, Y., Dai, X., Liu, X., & Xu, Y. (2020). Intraseasonal variation and future projection of atmospheric diffusion conditions conducive to extreme haze formation over eastern China. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 1–10. (abstract, pdf)
  • Dreyfus, G., Borgford-Parnell, N., Christensen, J., Fahey, D.W., Motherway, B., Peters, T., Picolotti, R., Shah, N., and Xu, Y. (2020). Assessment of climate and development benefits of efficient and climate-friendly cooling. Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). (Molina, M., and Zaelke, D., Steering Committee co-chairs) (abstract, pdf). 
  • Chen, J., Cui, H., Xu, Y. & Ge, Q. An Investigation of Parameter Sensitivity of Minimum Complexity Earth Simulator. Atmosphere. 11(1), (2020). (abstract, pdf)
2019​
  • Wu, X., Xu, Y., Kumar, R., & Barth, M. (2019). Separating emission and meteorological drivers of mid‐21st‐century air quality changes in India based on multiyear global‐regional chemistry‐climate simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124, 13,420–13,438. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030988. (abstract, pdf)
  • Lin, L., Gettelman, A., Xu, Y., Wu, C., Wang, Z., Rosenbloom, N., Bates, S. C., and Dong, W.: CAM6 simulation of mean and extreme precipitation over Asia: sensitivity to upgraded physical parameterizations and higher horizontal resolution, Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3773–3793, 2019. (abstract, pdf)
  • Feng, R., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Xu, Y., Brady, E., Fletcher, T., & Ballantyne, A. (2019). Contributions of aerosol‐cloud interactions to mid-Piacenzian seasonally sea ice-free Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 46, 9920–9929. https://doi.org/10.1029/ 2019GL083960 (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Chen, H., Wang, H., Sun, J., Xu, Y., and Yin, Z.: Anthropogenic fine particulate matter pollution will be exacerbated in eastern China due to 21st century GHG warming, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 233–243, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-233-2019, 2019. (abstract, pdf, supplement, featured in CarbonBrief)
2018
  • Xu, Y., V. Ramanathan, D. G. Victor (2018), Global warming will happen faster than we think, Nature, 564 (7734), 30. (abstract, pdf, featured in NewYorkTimes, ChinaScienceDaily)
  • Lin, L., Wang, Z., Xu, Y., Fu, Q., & Dong, W. (2018). Larger Sensitivity of Precipitation Extremes to Aerosol than Greenhouse Gas Forcing in CMIP5 Models. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 123, doi: 10.1029/2018JD028821. (abstract, pdf)
  • Lin, L., Xu, Y., Wang, Z., Diao, C., Dong, W., & Xie, S.-P. (2018) Changes in extreme rainfall over India and China attributed to regional aerosol‐cloud interaction during the late 20th century rapid industrialization. Geophysical Research Letters, 45. (abstract, pdf, supplement, featured in Radio EcoShock)
  • Lin, L., Wang, Z., Xu, Y., Zhang, X., Zhang, H., & Dong, W. (2018). Additional intensification of seasonal heat and flooding extreme over China in a 2°C warmer world compared to 1.5°C. Earth's Future, 6, 968–978. (abstract, pdf)
  • Xu, Y., and J.-F. Lamarque (2018) Isolating the Meteorological Impact of 21st Century GHG Warming on the Removal and Atmospheric Loading of Anthropogenic Fine Particulate Matter Pollution at Global Scale. Earth's Future, 6, 428–440. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Xu, Y. and A. Hu (2018) How Would the Twenty-First-Century Warming Influence Pacific Decadal Variability and Its Connection to North American Rainfall: Assessment Based on a Revised Procedure for the IPO/PDO. Journal of Climate, 31, 1547–1563  (abstract, pdf)
2017
  • Ramanathan, V., Molina, M.J., Zaelke, D., Borgford-Parnell, N., Xu, Y., Alex, K., Auffhammer, M., Bledsoe, P., Collins, W., Croes, B., Forman, F., Gustafsson, Ö, Haines, A., Harnish, R., Jacobson, M.Z., Kang, S., Lawrence, M., Leloup, D., Lenton, T., Morehouse, T., Munk, W., Picolotti, R., Prather, K., Raga, G., Rignot, E., Shindell, D., Singh, A.K., Steiner, A., Thiemens, M., Titley, D.W., Tucker, M.E., Tripathi, S., and Victor D. (2017), Well Under 2 Degrees Celsius: Fast Action Policies to Protect People and the Planet from Extreme Climate Change. (pdf, IGSD press release)
  • Xu, Y., and V. Ramanathan (2017), Well below 2 °C: Mitigation strategies for avoiding dangerous to catastrophic climate changes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. , doi:10.1073/pnas.1618481114 . (abstract, pdf+supplement, Scripps press release, IGSD summary, featured in Scientific American, a minor correction)
  • O'Neill, B.C., J.M. Done, A. Gettelman, P. Lawrence, F. Lehner, J-F., Lamarque, L. Lin, A.J. Monaghan, K. Oleson, X. Ren, B.M. Sanderson, C. Tebaldi, M. Weitzel, Y. Xu, B. Anderson, M.J. Fix, and S. Levis (2017), The Benefits of Reduced Anthropogenic Climate changE (BRACE): A synthesis, Climatic Change, 1-15, doi: 10.1007/s10584-017-2009-x. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Wang, Z., Lin, L., Yang, M., Xu, Y., and J. Li, (2017) Disentangling fast and slow responses of the East Asian summer monsoon to reflecting and absorbing aerosol forcings, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11075-11088, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11075-2017.(abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Sanderson, B. M., Xu, Y., Tebaldi, C., Wehner, M., O'Neill, B., Jahn, A., Pendergrass, A. G., Lehner, F., Strand, W. G., Lin, L., Knutti, R., and J.F. Lamarque (2017), Community climate simulations to assess avoided impacts in 1.5 and 2  °C futures, Earth Syst. Dynam., 8, 827-847. (abstract, pdf)
  • Wang, Z., L. Lin, X. Zhang, H. Zhang, L. Liu, and Y. Xu (2017), Scenario dependence of future changes in climate extremes under 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming, Scientific Report, 7, 46432.  (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Liu, J., K. M. Rühland, J. Chen, Y. Xu, S. Chen,  Q. Chen, W. Huang. Q. Xu, F. Chen, and J. P. Smol (2017), Aerosol-weakened summer monsoons decrease lake fertilization in the Chinese Loess Plateau, Nature Climate Change, 7(3), 190–194, doi:10.1038/nclimate3220.  (abstract, pdf, supplement, News&Views)
  • Xu, Y., and L. Lin (2017), Pattern scaling based projections for precipitation and potential evapotranspiration: sensitivity to composition of GHGs and aerosols forcing, Climatic Change, 140(3), 635–647, doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1879-7.  (abstract, pdf, supplement)
2016
  • Lin, L., Z. Wang, Y. Xu, and Q. Fu (2016), Sensitivity of precipitation extremes to radiative forcing of greenhouse gases and aerosols, Geophysical Research Letters, 43(18), 9860–9868, doi:10.1002/2016GL070869.  (abstract, pdf, featured in Nature)
  • Xu, Y., V. Ramanathan, and W. M. Washington (2016), Observed high-altitude warming and snow cover retreat over Tibet and the Himalayas enhanced by black carbon aerosols, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16(3), 1303–1315, doi:10.5194/acp-16-1303-2016. (abstract, pdf, supplement, featured in SciDev)
  • Lin, L., A. Gettelman, Q. Fu, and Y. Xu (2016), Simulated differences in 21st century aridity due to different scenarios of greenhouse gases and aerosols, Climatic Change, 1–16, doi:10.1007/s10584-016-1615-3. (abstract, pdf, supplement) 
  • Lin, L., A. Gettelman, Y. Xu, and Q. Fu (2016), Simulated responses of terrestrial aridity to black carbon and sulfate aerosols, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(2), 785–794, doi:10.1002/2015JD024100. (abstract, pdf)
  • Wang, Z., L. Lin, M. Yang, and Y. Xu (2016), The effect of future reduction in aerosol emissions on climate extremes in China, Climate Dynamics, 1–15, doi:10.1007/s00382-016-3003-0. (abstract, pdf) 
2015
  • Xu, Y., J.-F. Lamarque, and B. M. Sanderson (2015), The importance of aerosol scenarios in projections of future heat extremes, Climatic Change, 1–14, doi:10.1007/s10584-015-1565-1. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
  • Pendergrass, A. G., F. Lehner, B. M. Sanderson, and Y. Xu (2015), Does extreme precipitation intensity depend on the emissions scenario?, Geophysical Research Letters, 42, 8767–8774, doi:10.1002/2015GL065854.  (abstract, pdf, supplement) 
  • Xu, Y., and S.-P. Xie (2015), Ocean mediation of tropospheric response to reflecting and absorbing aerosols, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 15(10), 5827–5833, doi:10.5194/acp-15-5827-2015. (abstract, pdf, supplement)
2014
  • Xu, Y. (2014), Climate effects of black carbon and the emission reduction for mitigating climate change. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of California, San Diego. 208pp. (Committee members: Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Lynn Russell, Lynne Talley, David Victor, Warren M. Washington, Guang J. Zhang) (abstract, pdf)
2013
  • Xu, Y., and D. Zaelke (2013), Unpacking the problem. Our Planet - The magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme. December 2013 issue, pp24–25. (abstract, pdf)
  • Xu, Y., R. Bahadur, C. Zhao, and L. R. Leung (2013), Estimating the radiative forcing of carbonaceous aerosols over California based on satellite and ground observations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 118(19), 11148–11160, doi:10.1002/jgrd.50835.(abstract, pdf, supplement, featured in NASA Giovanni Newsletter)
  • Xu, Y., D. Zaelke, G. J. M. Velders, and V. Ramanathan (2013), The role of HFCs in mitigating 21st century climate change, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13(12), 6083–6089, doi:10.5194/acp-13-6083-2013. (abstract, pdf, featured in EGU GeoLog, SkepitalScience, Nature)
  • Hu, A., Y. Xu, C. Tebaldi, W. M. Washington, and V. Ramanathan (2013), Mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants slows sea-level rise, Nature Climate Change, 3(8), 730–734, doi:10.1038/nclimate1869. (abstract, pdf, supplement, UNEP press release)
2012
  • Bahadur, R., P. S. Praveen, Y. Xu, and V. Ramanathan (2012), Solar absorption by elemental and brown carbon determined from spectral observations, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(43), 17366–17371, doi:10.1073/pnas.1205910109. (abstract, pdf+supplement, CARB press release)
  • Xu, Y., and V. Ramanathan (2012), Latitudinally asymmetric response of global surface temperature: Implications for regional climate change, Geophysical Research Letters, 39(13), L13706, doi:10.1029/2012GL052116. (abstract, pdf, supplement, featured in Nature)
2010
  • Ramanathan, V., and Y. Xu (2010), The Copenhagen Accord for limiting global warming: criteria, constraints, and available avenues, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(18), 8055–8062, doi:10.1073/pnas.1002293107. (abstract, pdf+supplement, NSF press release)
2009
  • Xu, Y., S. Liu, F. Hu, N. Ma, Y. Wang, Y. Shi, and H. Jia (2009), Influence of Beijing urbanization on the characteristics of atmospheric boundary layer, Chinese Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 33(4), 859–867, doi:10.3878/j.issn.1006-9895.2009.04.18. (abstract, pdf)