The results are presented of a study to tropospheric NO2 over China, based on measurements from the satellite instruments GOME and SCIAMACHY. A data set of 10 year tropospheric NO2 has been processed from GOME and SCIAMACHY observations using a combined retrieval/assimilation approach. This approach allows the retrieval of global, accurate tropospheric concentrations and detailed error estimates. The resulting dataset has been analysed with statistical methods to derive trends in NO2 and the seasonal variability on a grid of 1×1 degree for all regions of China. The variance and the autocorrelation of the noise are used to calculate the significance of the trend. The results show a large growth of tropospheric NO2 over eastern China, especially above the industrial areas with a fast economical growth. The seasonal pattern of the NO2 concentration shows a clear difference between East and West China. This spatial difference correlates with the dominating source of emission
