Driver factors and influence paths behind related environmental issues announced since the implementation of the national ecological and environmental protection supervision-inspection system in China

China's national ecological and environmental protection supervision-inspection (NEEPS) system effectively exposes environmental issues, providing early warning feedback and a basis for measures aimed at sustained environmental quality improvement. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving mechanisms of the issues exposed by NEEPS have not yet been analyzed in depth. This study conducted a quantitative analysis of the environmental issues exposed by NEEPS from 2016 to 2023, revealing the spatiotemporal variation patterns of China's major environmental issues over these eight years and analyzing their driving factors. The findings reveal that the severity of environmental issues exposed by NEEPS exhibits a time-series pattern of “surge-decline-rebound-sustained improvement.” Spatially, the distribution of the severity of environmental issues highly aligns with the classic “Hu Huanyong Line” in Chinese geography, with economically developed southeastern coastal China showing greater severity than underdeveloped western China. Among pollution types, water environmental issues—which have directly linked to health through intake—predominate, accounting for 48 % of the total issue severity, compared to air, soil, and solid waste. Furthermore, the severity correlated strongly with regional industrial output, industrial pollution control investment, and per capita GDP. The aggravating effect of industrial expansion was significantly stronger than the inhibiting effect of environmental investment and economic growth, with the former exacerbating pollution through expansive production and the latter two significantly mitigating environmental pressure by terminal treatment. These results provide a theoretical basis for identifying future entry points to improve environmental governance. • Environmental issue severity shows a surge-decline-rebound-improvement trend. • Water pollution dominates exposed issues (48 %). • Spatial distribution of severity highly aligns with “Hu Huanyong Line” divide. • Industrial output, environmental investment, and per capita GDP are key factors.