ArticleScientific reports2026
Uncovering nonlinear causal relationship between public environmental concern and air pollution in China using convergent cross mapping.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Previous studies have investigated the relationship between public environmental concern (PEC) and air pollution using annual-scale data. Due to the nonlinear and abrupt nature of public perception and response to sudden events, traditional methods may obscure the true causal relationship between PEC and air pollution. In this paper, we extend the measurement of PEC and use the Convergent Cross Mapping (CCM) to analyze its causal relationship with air pollution. Based on daily average PEC, AQI and PM2.5 data from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 for 115 prefecture-level cities in China, we find that the relationship between PEC and air pollution exhibits nonlinear and weak coupling characteristics. At the same time, cities showing a significant causal effect of PEC on air pollution are predominantly situated in the North China Plain and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, regions characterized by relatively high levels of economic development. Compared to PEC affecting air pollution, air pollution significantly influences PEC in more cities. This result implies a reversed causal relationship in most cities, whereby air pollution is not alleviated by increased public environmental concern, but instead stimulates greater public attention to environmental issues through its adverse health impacts. PEC is effective as a pollution mitigation strategy only in a limited number of economically advanced cities. It is recommended that relevant departments introduce feasible policies that facilitate public feedback and reinforce the enforcement of environmental regulations and penalties. Relevant agencies should develop a more effective response framework, manage public attention data in a systematic and scientific manner, and explore region-specific approaches to utilize public environmental awareness to mitigate air pollution.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.