1
|
Mejía C D, Faican G, Zalakeviciute R, Matovelle C, Bonilla S, Sobrino JA. Spatio-temporal evaluation of air pollution using ground-based and satellite data during COVID-19 in Ecuador. Heliyon 2024; 10:e28152. [PMID: 38560184 PMCID: PMC10979269 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The concentration of gases in the atmosphere is a topic of growing concern due to its effects on health, ecosystems etc. Its monitoring is commonly carried out through ground stations which offer high precision and temporal resolution. However, in countries with few stations, such as Ecuador, these data fail to adequately describe the spatial variability of pollutant concentrations. Remote sensing data have great potential to solve this complication. This study evaluates the spatiotemporal distribution of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations in Quito and Cuenca, using data obtained from ground-based and Sentinel-5 Precursor mission sources during the years 2019 and 2020. Moreover, a Linear Regression Model (LRM) was employed to analyze the correlation between ground-based and satellite datasets, revealing positive associations for O3 (R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 0.18) and NO2 (R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 0.25) in Quito; and O3 (R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 0.23) and NO2, (R2 = 0.73, RMSE = 0.23) for Cuenca. The agreement between ground-based and satellite datasets was analyzed by employing the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), reflecting good agreement between them (ICC ≥0.57); and using Bland and Altman coefficients, which showed low bias and that more than 95% of the differences are within the limits of agreement. Furthermore, the study investigated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, such as social distancing and isolation, on atmospheric conditions. This was categorized into three periods for 2019 and 2020: before (from January 1st to March 15th), during (from March 16th to May 17th), and after (from March 18th to December 31st). A 51% decrease in NO2 concentrations was recorded for Cuenca, while Quito experienced a 14.7% decrease. The tropospheric column decreased by 27.3% in Cuenca and 15.1% in Quito. O3 showed an increasing trend, with tropospheric concentrations rising by 0.42% and 0.11% for Cuenca and Quito respectively, while the concentration in Cuenca decreased by 14.4%. Quito experienced an increase of 10.5%. Finally, the reduction of chemical species in the atmosphere as a consequence of mobility restrictions is highlighted. This study compared satellite and ground station data for NO2 and O3 concentrations. Despite differing units preventing data validation, it verified the Sentinel-5P satellite's effectiveness in anomaly detection. Our research's value lies in its applicability to developing countries, which may lack extensive monitoring networks, demonstrating the potential use of satellite technology in urban planning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Mejía C
- Grupo CATOx – CEA de la Universidad de Cuenca, Campus Balzay, 010207 Cuenca, Ecuador
- Carrera de Ingeniería Ambiental de la Universidad de Cuenca, Campus Balzay, 010207 Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Gina Faican
- Grupo CATOx – CEA de la Universidad de Cuenca, Campus Balzay, 010207 Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Rasa Zalakeviciute
- Grupo de Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Americas, Quito - EC 170125, Ecuador
| | - Carlos Matovelle
- Carrera de Ingeniería Ambienta de la Universidad Católica de Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Santiago Bonilla
- Research Center for the Territory and Sustainable Habitat, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Machala y Sabanilla, 170301 Quito, Ecuador
| | - José A. Sobrino
- Gobal Change Unit (GCU), Image Processing Laboratory (IPL), University of Valencia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
The perception of public space of the elderly after social isolation and its effect on health. AIN SHAMS ENGINEERING JOURNAL 2023; 14:101884. [PMCID: PMC9280447 DOI: 10.1016/j.asej.2022.101884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing life in public spaces where people from all ages and segments of society interact, is a lifestyle especially in Mediterranean societies. The question of how and in which direction the importance of public spaces in our lives will change after the Covid 19 pandemic has formed the starting point of this study. With this study, it was aimed to analyze the location of public spaces especially in the lives of users over 65 years of age and to predict how and in what direction this place will change. In this context, a survey was conducted with 68 people over 65 years of age between when the curfew to this user group was approved. As a result of the study, it was observed that the prevention of the use of public spaces, which constitute a large place in their lives, highlighted their need for these spaces. And those who participated in the questionnaire were evaluated these spaces as the most important places where they would never regret after the pandemic. The study also discussed the measures to be taken and new approaches in urban areas despite the risk of a pandemic.
Collapse
|
3
|
Volke MI, Abarca-Del-Rio R, Ulloa-Tesser C. Impact of mobility restrictions on NO 2 concentrations in key Latin American cities during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. URBAN CLIMATE 2023; 48:101412. [PMID: 36627949 PMCID: PMC9816081 DOI: 10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Between March and June 2020, activity in the major cities of Latin America declined due to containment efforts implemented by local governments to avoid the rapid spread of COVID-19. Our study compared 2020 with the previous year and demonstrated a considerable drop in tropospheric NO2 levels obtained by the SENTINEL 5P satellite in major Latin American cities. Lima (47.5%), Santiago (36.1%), São Paulo (27%), Rio de Janeiro (23%), Quito (18.6%), Bogota (17.5%), Buenos Aires (16.6%), Guayaquil (15.3%), Medellin (14.2%), La Paz (9.5%), Belo Horizonte (7.8%), Mexico (7.6%) and Brasilia (5.9%) registered statistically significant decreases in NO2 concentrations during the study period. In addition, we analyzed mobility data from Google and Apple reports as well as meteorological information from atmospheric reanalysis data along with satellite fields between 2011 and 2020, and performed a refined multivariate analysis (non-negative matrix approximation) to show that this decrease was associated with a reduction in population mobility rather than meteorological factors. Our findings corroborate the argument that confinement scenarios may indicate how air pollutant concentrations can be effectively reduced and managed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matias I Volke
- Energy Doctoral Program, Faculty of Engineering, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Rodrigo Abarca-Del-Rio
- Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile
| | - Claudia Ulloa-Tesser
- Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Environmental Science and EULA Center, Universidad de Concepción, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Urrutia-Mosquera JA, Flórez-Calderón LÁ. Impact of Confinement on the Reduction of Pollution and Particulate Matter Concentrations. Reflections for Public Transport Policies. ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES 2023; 10:2. [PMCID: PMC9758684 DOI: 10.1007/s40710-022-00611-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Different initiatives have been implemented to improve air quality in large cities, such as encouraging travel by sustainable modes of transport, promoting electro-mobility, or the car-free day. However, to date, we have not found statistics that indicate to what extent the concentration levels of particulate matter PM 2.5 , PM 10 and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) pollutants decrease as a result of public policy. We used official data from the Chilean Government’s national air quality information system (SINCA) for the Santiago metropolitan region and estimated the impact of the confinement by COVID-19 on the ambient concentration average values of NO x gases and particulate matter PM 2.5 and PM 10 , which are the main air pollutants produced by the transport sector after CO 2 . We found that in general there are significant differences between the average levels of gas emissions for 2020 compared to 2019. In particular, we found that, for the months of total confinement May-July, the monthly average levels decreased between 7% and 19% for particulate matter PM 2.5 , between 18% and 50% for PM 10 and between 34% and 48% for NO x . With the return to the new normality, these improvements in ambient concentration levels may be affected by the increase in private transport trips, due to the reluctance of citizens to return to mass public transport. Our results, therefore, represent the maximum impact that can be expected in reducing ambient concentration levels in the city of Santiago of Chile when a mobility reduction of gasoline vehicles is implemented. The reduction of PM 2.5 , PM 10 and NO x was no more than 7%, 18% and 34%, respectively. The average concentration of PM 2.5 decreased by 7–19% compared to previous years. The average concentration of PM 10 decreased by 18% and 50% compared to previous years. Concentrating commuting on public transport would help reduce levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 .
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Luz Ángela Flórez-Calderón
- Department of Transportation and Logistics Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Ali A, Farhan SB, Zhang Y, Nasir J, Farhan H, Zamir UB, Gao H. Changes in temporal pattern and spatial distribution of environmental pollutants in 8 Asian countries owing to COVID-19 pandemic. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 308:136075. [PMID: 36007741 PMCID: PMC9395142 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This study investigated the changes in air pollutant's concentration, spatio-temporal distribution and sensitivity of changes in air pollutant's concentration during pre and post COVID-19 outbreak. We employed Google Earth Engine Platform to access remote sensing datasets of air pollutants across Asian continent. Air pollution and cumulative confirmed-COVID cases data of Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia) have been collected and analyzed for 2019 and 2020. The results indicate that aerosol index (AI) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is significantly reduced during COVID outbreak i.e. in year 2020. In addition, we found significantly positive (P < 0.05, 95% confidence interval, two-tailed) correlation between changes in AI and NO2 concentration for net active-COVID case increment in almost each country. For other atmospheric gases i.e. carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), ozone (O3), and Sulfur dioxide (SO2), insignificant and/or significant negative correlation is also observed. These results suggest that the atmospheric concentration of AI and NO2 are good indicators of human activities. Furthermore, the changes in O3 shows significantly negative correlation for net active-COVID case increment. In conclusion, we observed significant positive environmental impact of COVID-19 restrictions in Asia. This study would help and assist environmentalist and policy makers in restraining air pollution by implementing efficient restrictions on human activities with minimal economic loss.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Suhaib Bin Farhan
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Yinsheng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Jawad Nasir
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Haris Farhan
- National Centre for Remote Sensing & Geo Informatics, Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan.
| | | | - Haifeng Gao
- Satellite Application Center for Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Beijing, China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hassan SK, Alghamdi MA, Khoder MI. Effect of restricted emissions during COVID-19 on atmospheric aerosol chemistry in a Greater Cairo suburb: Characterization and enhancement of secondary inorganic aerosol production. ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION RESEARCH 2022; 13:101587. [PMID: 36340245 PMCID: PMC9627639 DOI: 10.1016/j.apr.2022.101587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
To prevent the rapid spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian government had imposed partial lockdown restrictions which led emissions reduction. This served as ideal conditions for a natural experiment, for study the effect of partial lockdown on the atmospheric aerosol chemistry and the enhanced secondary inorganic aerosol production in a semi-desert climate area like Egypt. To achieve this objective, SO2, NO2, and PM2.5 and their chemical compositions were measured during the pre-COVID, COVID partial lockdown, and post-COVID periods in 2020 in a suburb of Greater Cairo, Egypt. Our results show that the SO2, NO2, PM2.5 and anthropogenic elements concentrations follow the pattern pre-COVID > post-COVID > COVID partial lockdown. SO2 and NO2 reductions were high compared with their secondary products during the COVID partial lockdown compared with pre-COVID. Although, PM2.5, anthropogenic elements, NO2, SO2, SO4 2-, NO3 -, and NH4 + decreased by 39%, 38-55%, 38%, 32.9%. 9%, 14%, and 4.3%, respectively, during the COVID partial lockdown compared with pre-COVID, with the secondary inorganic ions (SO4 2-, NO3 -, and NH4 +) being the dominant components in PM2.5 during the COVID partial lockdown. Moreover, the enhancement of NO3 - and SO4 2- formation during the COVID partial lockdown was high compared with pre-COVID. SO4 2- and NO3 - formation enhancements were significantly positive correlated with PM2.5 concentration. Chemical forms of SO4 2- and NO3 - were identified in PM2.5 based on their NH4 +/SO4 2- molar ratio and correlation between NH4 + and both NO3 - and SO4 2-. The particles during the COVID partial lockdown were more acidic than those in pre-COVID.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Salwa K Hassan
- Air Pollution Research Department, Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, El Behooth Str., Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt
| | - Mansour A Alghamdi
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80208, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mamdouh I Khoder
- Air Pollution Research Department, Environmental and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, El Behooth Str., Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Ullah S, Khan FU, Trifan VA, Spinu AE, Sanda G. Modeling Key Strategies for Reducing Socio-Economic and Health Crisis: Perspective from COVID-19 Pandemic. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14127. [PMID: 36361010 PMCID: PMC9658111 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The pandemic outbreak has dramatically changed every sector and walk of life. Specifically, the developing countries with scarce resources are facing unprecedented crises that further jeopardize efforts to achieve sustainable life. Considering the case of a developing country, Pakistan, this study empirically identifies the most important strategies to reduce the socio-economic and health challenges during COVID-19. Initially, the study identified 14 key strategies from the prior literature. Later, these strategies were determined with the help of the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach through expert suggestions. The ISM model represents seven levels of pandemic containment strategies based on their significance level. The strategies existing at the top level of ISM model are the least important, while the strategies at the bottom of hierarchy levels are highly significant. Therefore, the study results demonstrated that "strong leadership and control" and "awareness on social media" play significant roles in reducing pandemic challenges, while "promoting online purchase behavior" and "online education" are the least important strategies in tackling pandemic crisis. This study will benefit government authorities and policymakers, enabling them to focus more on significant measures in battling this ongoing crisis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sajid Ullah
- School of Economics and Management, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
| | - Farman Ullah Khan
- School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
| | - Vanina Adoriana Trifan
- Department of Economic Disciplines, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310130 Arad, Romania
| | - Adina Eleonora Spinu
- Department of Economic Disciplines, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310130 Arad, Romania
| | - Grigorie Sanda
- Department of Economic Disciplines, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310130 Arad, Romania
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Assessment of air quality changes during COVID-19 partial lockdown in a Brazilian metropolis: from lockdown to economic opening of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE & HEALTH 2022; 15:1205-1220. [PMID: 34840623 PMCID: PMC8609175 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-021-01127-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
9
|
Liu Z, Pang P, Fang W, Ali S, Anser MK. Dynamic common correlated effects of pandemic uncertainty on environmental quality: fresh insights from East-Asia and Pacific countries. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2022; 15:1395-1411. [PMID: 35194479 PMCID: PMC8853084 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-022-01164-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
It is well known that pandemic-related uncertainty affects various macroeconomic indicators, including environmental quality. Due to pandemic outbreaks, the reduction in economic activities affects the environmental quality in many economies. The study explores the impact of pandemic uncertainty on environmental quality in East-Asia and Pacific countries. Most past research use only CO2 emissions, which is an inappropriate measurement of environmental quality. Besides CO2 emissions, we have utilized other pollutants like N2O and CH4 emissions along with ecological footprint. The traditional econometric approaches ignore cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity and give biased outcomes. Hence, we have employed a new method, "Dynamic Common Correlated Effects (DCCE)," which can excellently deal with the problems mentioned above. The short-run and long-run DCCE estimations show a negative and significant influence of pandemic uncertainty on ecological footprint, CO2 and CH4 emissions in whole and lower-income group of East-Asia and Pacific region. Moreover, pandemic uncertainty has a negative relationship with all indicators of environmental quality in higher-income economies. The study provides a unique opportunity to examine how pandemic uncertainty through anthropogenic activities affects environmental quality and serves as a significant resource for policymakers in planning and estimating the effectiveness of environmental quality measures. It is necessary to carry out sustainable environmental policies in East-Asia and Pacific region according to the vulnerabilities and resilience to global pandemic uncertainty.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Liu
- School of Business, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ping Pang
- School of Business, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Wei Fang
- Institute of Agricultural Economic and Information, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640 China
| | - Sajid Ali
- School of Economics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Khalid Anser
- School of Public Administration, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Mondal R, Mishra S, Pillai JSK, Sahoo MC. COVID 19 Pandemic and biomedical waste management practices in healthcare system. J Family Med Prim Care 2022; 11:439-446. [PMID: 35360761 PMCID: PMC8963639 DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1139_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The whole world was shaken with the pandemic of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in end of the year 2019. Due to its novel origin, it was required to follow all precautions possible. Dealing with the massive amount of infectious healthcare waste became an enormous challenge. This review identifies the impacts of the pandemic on biomedical waste management. This systematic review was made by using keywords "biomedical waste" and "COVID 19" in open access databases like PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholers etc. 2124 articles downloaded and 765 found duplicate and 634 not related to the topic. after scrutiny with inclusion criteria 102 articles were considered to analyze the practices related to biomedical waste management during pandemic using PRISMA guideline.. The COVID-19 waste segregation, collection, storage, transportation, and disposal are a big challenge with all stakeholders. In order to control the virus spread, strict monitoring of the complete waste management cycle is required. Adoption of appropriate guidelines is paramount to worker safety and containment of infection. Sustainable recycling methods are needed to deal with the ever-increasing plastic waste resulting from mandatory personal protective equipment (PPE) usage. The situation also demands a rethinking of the healthcare system. Overall, there was an increase in BMW generation, and municipal waste had increased globally. Pandemic preparedness requires a global public health strategy and long-term investments. This will be vital for making a robust community capable enough to fight against any public health pressures in the future, as well as the pandemic tremors. Systematized efforts from all stakeholders, at all levels, not only refines epidemic preparation but also helps to attain a sustainable development of health for a healthier future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ramkrishna Mondal
- Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Siddharth Mishra
- Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Jawahar S. K. Pillai
- Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Mukunda C. Sahoo
- Department of Hospital Administration, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Wang Y, Wu R, Liu L, Yuan Y, Liu C, Hang Ho SS, Ren H, Wang Q, Lv Y, Yan M, Cao J. Differential health and economic impacts from the COVID-19 lockdown between the developed and developing countries: Perspective on air pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 293:118544. [PMID: 34801622 PMCID: PMC8601204 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
It is enlightening to determine the discrepancies and potential reasons for the degree of impact from the COVID-19 control measures on air quality as well as the associated health and economic impacts. Analysis of air quality, socio-economic factors, and meteorological data from 447 cities in 46 countries indicated that the COVID-19 control measures had significant impacts on the PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm) concentrations in 20 (reduced PM2.5 concentrations of -7.4-29.1 μg m-3) of the selected 46 countries. In these 20 countries, the robustly distinguished changes in the PM2.5 concentrations caused by the control measures differed between the developed (95% confidence interval (CI): -2.7-5.5 μg m-3) and developing countries (95% CI: 8.3-23.2 μg m-3). As a result, the COVID-19 lockdown reduced death and hospital admissions change from the decreased PM2.5 concentrations by 7909 and 82,025 cases in the 12 developing countries, and by 78 and 1214 cases in the eight developed countries. The COVID-19 lockdown reduced the economic cost from the PM2.5 related health burden by 54.0 million dollars in the 12 developing countries and by 8.3 million dollars in the eight developed countries. The disparity was related to the different chemical compositions of PM2.5. In particular, the concentrations of primary PM2.5 (e.g., BC) in cities of developing countries were 3-45 times higher than those in developed countries, so the mass concentration of PM2.5 was more sensitive to the reduced local emissions in developing countries during the COVID-19 control period. The mass fractions of secondary PM2.5 in developed countries were generally higher than those in developing countries. As a result, these countries were more sensitive to the secondary atmospheric processing that may have been enhanced due to reduced local emissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yichen Wang
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China.
| | - Rui Wu
- School of Business, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Lang Liu
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China
| | - Yuan Yuan
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China
| | - ChenGuang Liu
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, China
| | - Steven Sai Hang Ho
- Division of Atmosphere Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, 89512, United States
| | - Honghao Ren
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan, 030006, China
| | - Qiyuan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Yang Lv
- School of Government Administration, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Mengyuan Yan
- Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, 710061, China
| | - Junji Cao
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Sokhi RS, Singh V, Querol X, Finardi S, Targino AC, Andrade MDF, Pavlovic R, Garland RM, Massagué J, Kong S, Baklanov A, Ren L, Tarasova O, Carmichael G, Peuch VH, Anand V, Arbilla G, Badali K, Beig G, Belalcazar LC, Bolignano A, Brimblecombe P, Camacho P, Casallas A, Charland JP, Choi J, Chourdakis E, Coll I, Collins M, Cyrys J, da Silva CM, Di Giosa AD, Di Leo A, Ferro C, Gavidia-Calderon M, Gayen A, Ginzburg A, Godefroy F, Gonzalez YA, Guevara-Luna M, Haque SM, Havenga H, Herod D, Hõrrak U, Hussein T, Ibarra S, Jaimes M, Kaasik M, Khaiwal R, Kim J, Kousa A, Kukkonen J, Kulmala M, Kuula J, La Violette N, Lanzani G, Liu X, MacDougall S, Manseau PM, Marchegiani G, McDonald B, Mishra SV, Molina LT, Mooibroek D, Mor S, Moussiopoulos N, Murena F, Niemi JV, Noe S, Nogueira T, Norman M, Pérez-Camaño JL, Petäjä T, Piketh S, Rathod A, Reid K, Retama A, Rivera O, Rojas NY, Rojas-Quincho JP, San José R, Sánchez O, Seguel RJ, Sillanpää S, Su Y, Tapper N, Terrazas A, Timonen H, Toscano D, Tsegas G, Velders GJM, Vlachokostas C, von Schneidemesser E, Vpm R, Yadav R, Zalakeviciute R, Zavala M. A global observational analysis to understand changes in air quality during exceptionally low anthropogenic emission conditions. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2021; 157:106818. [PMID: 34425482 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
This global study, which has been coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO/GAW) programme, aims to understand the behaviour of key air pollutant species during the COVID-19 pandemic period of exceptionally low emissions across the globe. We investigated the effects of the differences in both emissions and regional and local meteorology in 2020 compared with the period 2015-2019. By adopting a globally consistent approach, this comprehensive observational analysis focuses on changes in air quality in and around cities across the globe for the following air pollutants PM2.5, PM10, PMC (coarse fraction of PM), NO2, SO2, NOx, CO, O3 and the total gaseous oxidant (OX = NO2 + O3) during the pre-lockdown, partial lockdown, full lockdown and two relaxation periods spanning from January to September 2020. The analysis is based on in situ ground-based air quality observations at over 540 traffic, background and rural stations, from 63 cities and covering 25 countries over seven geographical regions of the world. Anomalies in the air pollutant concentrations (increases or decreases during 2020 periods compared to equivalent 2015-2019 periods) were calculated and the possible effects of meteorological conditions were analysed by computing anomalies from ERA5 reanalyses and local observations for these periods. We observed a positive correlation between the reductions in NO2 and NOx concentrations and peoples' mobility for most cities. A correlation between PMC and mobility changes was also seen for some Asian and South American cities. A clear signal was not observed for other pollutants, suggesting that sources besides vehicular emissions also substantially contributed to the change in air quality. As a global and regional overview of the changes in ambient concentrations of key air quality species, we observed decreases of up to about 70% in mean NO2 and between 30% and 40% in mean PM2.5 concentrations over 2020 full lockdown compared to the same period in 2015-2019. However, PM2.5 exhibited complex signals, even within the same region, with increases in some Spanish cities, attributed mainly to the long-range transport of African dust and/or biomass burning (corroborated with the analysis of NO2/CO ratio). Some Chinese cities showed similar increases in PM2.5 during the lockdown periods, but in this case, it was likely due to secondary PM formation. Changes in O3 concentrations were highly heterogeneous, with no overall change or small increases (as in the case of Europe), and positive anomalies of 25% and 30% in East Asia and South America, respectively, with Colombia showing the largest positive anomaly of ~70%. The SO2 anomalies were negative for 2020 compared to 2015-2019 (between ~25 to 60%) for all regions. For CO, negative anomalies were observed for all regions with the largest decrease for South America of up to ~40%. The NO2/CO ratio indicated that specific sites (such as those in Spanish cities) were affected by biomass burning plumes, which outweighed the NO2 decrease due to the general reduction in mobility (ratio of ~60%). Analysis of the total oxidant (OX = NO2 + O3) showed that primary NO2 emissions at urban locations were greater than the O3 production, whereas at background sites, OX was mostly driven by the regional contributions rather than local NO2 and O3 concentrations. The present study clearly highlights the importance of meteorology and episodic contributions (e.g., from dust, domestic, agricultural biomass burning and crop fertilizing) when analysing air quality in and around cities even during large emissions reductions. There is still the need to better understand how the chemical responses of secondary pollutants to emission change under complex meteorological conditions, along with climate change and socio-economic drivers may affect future air quality. The implications for regional and global policies are also significant, as our study clearly indicates that PM2.5 concentrations would not likely meet the World Health Organization guidelines in many parts of the world, despite the drastic reductions in mobility. Consequently, revisions of air quality regulation (e.g., the Gothenburg Protocol) with more ambitious targets that are specific to the different regions of the world may well be required.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ranjeet S Sokhi
- Centre for Atmospheric and Climate Physics (CACP) and Centre for Climate Change Research (C3R), University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK.
| | - Vikas Singh
- National Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Gadanki, AP, India
| | - Xavier Querol
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Admir Créso Targino
- Graduate Program in Environment Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Londrina, Brazil
| | | | - Radenko Pavlovic
- Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dorval, Canada
| | - Rebecca M Garland
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa; Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa; Department of Geography, Geo-informatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jordi Massagué
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain; Department of Mining, Industrial and ICT Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Shaofei Kong
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Alexander Baklanov
- Science and Innovation Department, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Lu Ren
- Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
| | - Oksana Tarasova
- Science and Innovation Department, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Greg Carmichael
- Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
| | - Vincent-Henri Peuch
- ECMWF, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, UK
| | - Vrinda Anand
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, India
| | | | - Kaitlin Badali
- Analysis and Air Quality Section, Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Gufran Beig
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, India
| | | | - Andrea Bolignano
- Agenzia Regionale di Protezione dell'Ambiente del Lazio, Rome, Italy
| | - Peter Brimblecombe
- Department of Marine Environment and Engineering, National Sun Yat Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Patricia Camacho
- Secretaria del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México (SEDEMA), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Alejandro Casallas
- Earth System Physics, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy; Escuela de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenieria, Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Jean-Pierre Charland
- Analysis and Air Quality Section, Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Jason Choi
- Environment Protection Authority Victoria, Centre for Applied Sciences, Macleod, Australia
| | - Eleftherios Chourdakis
- Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Isabelle Coll
- Université Paris-Est Créteil and Université de Paris, CNRS, LISA, Creteil, France
| | - Marty Collins
- Air Monitoring Operations, Resource Stewardship Division, Environment and Parks, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Josef Cyrys
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | | | | | - Anna Di Leo
- Agenzia Regionale di Protezione dell'Ambiente della Lombardia, Milano, Italy
| | - Camilo Ferro
- Escuela de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenieria, Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Amiya Gayen
- Department of Geography, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| | | | - Fabrice Godefroy
- Service de l'Environnement, Division du Contrôle des Rejets et Suivi Environnemental, Montréal, Canada
| | | | - Marco Guevara-Luna
- Conservación, Bioprospección y Desarrollo Sostenible, Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia, Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - Henno Havenga
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Dennis Herod
- National Smog Analysis, Analysis and Air Quality Section, Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Urmas Hõrrak
- Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tareq Hussein
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sergio Ibarra
- Departamento de Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Monica Jaimes
- Secretaria del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México (SEDEMA), Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Marko Kaasik
- Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ravindra Khaiwal
- Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
| | - Jhoon Kim
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Anu Kousa
- Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jaakko Kukkonen
- Centre for Atmospheric and Climate Physics (CACP) and Centre for Climate Change Research (C3R), University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK; Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Markku Kulmala
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Joel Kuula
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Nathalie La Violette
- Direction de la qualité de l'air et du climat, Direction générale du suivi de l'état de l'environnement, Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques Québec, Canada
| | - Guido Lanzani
- Agenzia Regionale di Protezione dell'Ambiente della Lombardia, Milano, Italy
| | - Xi Liu
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | | | - Patrick M Manseau
- Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dorval, Canada
| | - Giada Marchegiani
- Agenzia Regionale di Protezione dell'Ambiente del Lazio, Rome, Italy
| | - Brian McDonald
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, USA
| | | | | | - Dennis Mooibroek
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Suman Mor
- Department of Environment Studies, Punjab University, Chandigarh, India
| | - Nicolas Moussiopoulos
- Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Fabio Murena
- Department of Chemical, Material and Production Engineering (DICMAPI), Naples, Italy
| | - Jarkko V Niemi
- Direction de la qualité de l'air et du climat, Direction générale du suivi de l'état de l'environnement, Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques Québec, Canada
| | - Steffen Noe
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Thiago Nogueira
- Departamento de Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Michael Norman
- Environment and Health Administration, City of Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Tuukka Petäjä
- Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Stuart Piketh
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Aditi Rathod
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, India
| | - Ken Reid
- Air Quality and Climate Change, Metro Vancouver Regional District, Burnaby, Canada
| | | | - Olivia Rivera
- Secretaria del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México (SEDEMA), Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | - Roberto San José
- Computer Science School, ESMG, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Odón Sánchez
- Atmospheric Pollution Research Group, Universidad Nacional Tecnológica de Lima Sur, Lima, Peru
| | - Rodrigo J Seguel
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2, Department of Geophysics, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Yushan Su
- Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Toronto, Canada
| | - Nigel Tapper
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Antonio Terrazas
- Secretaria del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México (SEDEMA), Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Domenico Toscano
- Department of Chemical, Material and Production Engineering (DICMAPI), Naples, Italy
| | - George Tsegas
- Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Guus J M Velders
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, the Netherlands
| | - Christos Vlachokostas
- Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Rajasree Vpm
- Centre for Atmospheric and Climate Physics (CACP) and Centre for Climate Change Research (C3R), University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK
| | - Ravi Yadav
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, India
| | - Rasa Zalakeviciute
- Grupo de Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud (BIOMAS), Universidad de Las Americas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Miguel Zavala
- Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Pavón-Domínguez P, Plocoste T. Coupled multifractal methods to reveal changes in nitrogen dioxide and tropospheric ozone concentrations during the COVID-19 lockdown. ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH 2021; 261:105755. [PMID: 36540717 PMCID: PMC9756894 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2021.105755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown effects on air pollution level are undeniable. Several studies around the world have detected an uneven behaviour in tropospheric ozone (O 3) concentrations. In this work, Seville (Spain) is used as example of faced to traffic place in which the nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) is drastically reduced (41%) while O 3 has no significant changes. In order to evaluate the existence of differences in O 3 behaviour that is not detected by statistical procedures, a multifractal approach was used to assess the coupled scale relationship between NO 2 and O 3 during the 2020 lockdown against a period reference (2017-2019). For this purpose, the two main coupled multifractal method were employed: multifractal detrended cross-correlation and joint multifractal analysis. While cross-correlation analysis did not detect differences between the cross-correlated fluctuations of NO 2 and O 3 in the periods analysed, the joint multifractal analysis, based on the partition function and the method of moments, found a loss of variability in O 3 during the lockdown. This leads to a loss of multifractal characteristic of O 3 time series. The drastically reduction of primary pollutants during the lockdown might be the responsible of the tendency to monofractality in O 3 time series. These differences were found for a wide temporal extent ranging from 80 min to ~28 days.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Pavón-Domínguez
- Graphical Methods, Optimization and Learning (GOAL) TIC-259 Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design, Universidad de Cádiz, Avenida de la Universidad de Cádiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Thomas Plocoste
- Department of Research in Geoscience, KaruSphère SASU, Abymes 97139, Guadeloupe (F.W.I.), France
- Univ Antilles, LaRGE Laboratoire de Recherche en Géosciences et Energies (EA 4539), F-97100 Pointe-à-Pitre, France
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Abstract
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a serious public health threat and has had a tremendous impact on all spheres of the environment. The air quality across the world improved because of COVID-19 lockdowns. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, large numbers of studies have been carried out on the impact of lockdowns on air quality around the world, but no studies have been carried out on the systematic review on the impact of lockdowns on air quality. This study aims to systematically assess the bibliographic review on the impact of lockdowns on air quality around the globe. A total of 237 studies were identified after rigorous review, and 144 studies met the criteria for the review. The literature was surveyed from Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Google search engine. The results reveal that (i) most of the studies were carried out on Asia (about 65%), followed by Europe (18%), North America (6%), South America (5%), and Africa (3%); (ii) in the case of countries, the highest number of studies was performed on India (29%), followed by China (23%), the U.S. (5%), the UK (4%), and Italy; (iii) more than 60% of the studies included NO2 for study, followed by PM2.5 (about 50%), PM10, SO2, and CO; (iv) most of the studies were published by Science of the Total Environment (29%), followed by Aerosol and Air Quality Research (23%), Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health (9%), and Environmental Pollution (5%); (v) the studies reveal that there were significant improvements in air quality during lockdowns in comparison with previous time periods. Thus, this diversified study conducted on the impact of lockdowns on air quality will surely assist in identifying any gaps, as it outlines the insights of the current scientific research.
Collapse
|
15
|
Acal C, Aguilera AM, Sarra A, Evangelista A, Di Battista T, Palermi S. Functional ANOVA approaches for detecting changes in air pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. STOCHASTIC ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND RISK ASSESSMENT : RESEARCH JOURNAL 2021; 36:1083-1101. [PMID: 34456623 PMCID: PMC8383262 DOI: 10.1007/s00477-021-02071-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Faced with novel coronavirus outbreak, the most hard-hit countries adopted a lockdown strategy to contrast the spread of virus. Many studies have already documented that the COVID-19 control actions have resulted in improved air quality locally and around the world. Following these lines of research, we focus on air quality changes in the urban territory of Chieti-Pescara (Central Italy), identified as an area of criticality in terms of air pollution. Concentrations of NO 2 , PM 10 , PM 2.5 and benzene are used to evaluate air pollution changes in this Region. Data were measured by several monitoring stations over two specific periods: from 1st February to 10 th March 2020 (before lockdown period) and from 11st March 2020 to 18 th April 2020 (during lockdown period). The impact of lockdown on air quality is assessed through functional data analysis. Our work makes an important contribution to the analysis of variance for functional data (FANOVA). Specifically, a novel approach based on multivariate functional principal component analysis is introduced to tackle the multivariate FANOVA problem for independent measures, which is reduced to test multivariate homogeneity on the vectors of the most explicative principal components scores. Results of the present study suggest that the level of each pollutant changed during the confinement. Additionally, the differences in the mean functions of all pollutants according to the location and type of monitoring stations (background vs traffic), are ascribable to the PM 10 and benzene concentrations for pre-lockdown and during-lockdown tenure, respectively. FANOVA has proven to be beneficial to monitoring the evolution of air quality in both periods of time. This can help environmental protection agencies in drawing a more holistic picture of air quality status in the area of interest.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christian Acal
- Department of Statistics and O.R. and IMAG, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Ana M. Aguilera
- Department of Statistics and O.R. and IMAG, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Annalina Sarra
- Department of Philosophical, Pedagogical and Economic-Quantitative Sciences, University G. d’Annunzio, V.le Pindaro, 42, 65127 Pescara, Italy
| | - Adelia Evangelista
- Department of Philosophical, Pedagogical and Economic-Quantitative Sciences, University G. d’Annunzio, V.le Pindaro, 42, 65127 Pescara, Italy
| | - Tonio Di Battista
- Department of Philosophical, Pedagogical and Economic-Quantitative Sciences, University G. d’Annunzio, V.le Pindaro, 42, 65127 Pescara, Italy
| | - Sergio Palermi
- Agency of Environmental Protection of Abruzzo (ARTA), V.le G. Marconi, 51, 65127 Pescara, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Filonchyk M, Hurynovich V, Yan H. Impact of Covid-19 lockdown on air quality in the Poland, Eastern Europe. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 198:110454. [PMID: 33188759 PMCID: PMC7657033 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The first case of COVID-19 in Poland was registered on 4 March 2020. Governmental measures significantly restricted social and economic activities. This study investigates the impact on air quality resulting from the preventive measures taken by the government to manage Covid-19. The study was carried out with use of aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) satellite and tropospheric column NO2 observed by Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Concentrations of atmospheric pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and SO2) retrieved from ground-based air quality stations, located in five large cities of the country, were also used for quantitative assessment of air quality change. Ground-based and satellite data demonstrated the reduction of pollutants in the period of lockdown as compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019. In particular, AOD data shows reductions of aerosol concentrations in the air column in April and May of approximately by -23% and -18% as compared to 2018-2019. The greatest contraction was for PM2.5 in April and May with reductions of -11.1% to -26.4% and from -8.7 to -21.1% respectively. For PM10, the reductions were from -8.6% to -33.9% and from -8.5% to -31.5% as compared to the same months in 2019. The results showed that restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 significantly improved Poland's air quality.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mikalai Filonchyk
- Faculty of Geomatics, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, China; Gansu Provincial Engineering Laboratory for National Geographic State Monitoring, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
| | - Volha Hurynovich
- Faculty of Geomatics, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, China; Gansu Provincial Engineering Laboratory for National Geographic State Monitoring, Lanzhou, 730070, China
| | - Haowen Yan
- Faculty of Geomatics, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, China; Gansu Provincial Engineering Laboratory for National Geographic State Monitoring, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Marinello S, Butturi MA, Gamberini R. How changes in human activities during the lockdown impacted air quality parameters: A review. ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY 2021; 40:e13672. [PMID: 34221243 PMCID: PMC8237064 DOI: 10.1002/ep.13672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The health emergency linked to the spread of COVID-19 has led to important reduction in industrial and logistics activities, as well as to a drastic changes in citizens' behaviors and habits. The restrictions on working activities, journeys and relationships imposed by the lockdown have had important consequences, including for environmental quality. This review aims to provide a structured and critical evaluation of the recent scientific bibliography that analyzed and described the impact of lockdown on human activities and on air quality. The results indicate an important effect of the lockdown during the first few months of 2020 on air pollution levels, compared to previous periods. The concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide have decreased. Tropospheric ozone, on the other hand, has significantly increased. These results are important indicators that can become decision drivers for future policies and strategies in industrial and logistics activities (including the mobility sector) aimed at their environmental sustainability. The scenario imposed by COVID-19 has supported the understanding of the link between the reduction of polluting emissions and the state of air quality and will be able to support strategic choices for the future sustainable growth of the industrial and logistics sector.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samuele Marinello
- En&Tech Interdipartimental Center of the University of Modena and Reggio EmiliaReggio EmiliaItaly
| | - Maria Angela Butturi
- Department of Sciences and Methods for EngineeringUniversity of Modena and Reggio EmiliaReggio EmiliaItaly
| | - Rita Gamberini
- En&Tech Interdipartimental Center of the University of Modena and Reggio EmiliaReggio EmiliaItaly
- Department of Sciences and Methods for EngineeringUniversity of Modena and Reggio EmiliaReggio EmiliaItaly
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Assessment of Air Pollution before, during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Nanjing, China. ATMOSPHERE 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos12060743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A unique illness, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emerged in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China, in December 2019. To reduce the spread of the virus, strict lockdown policies and control measures were put in place all over the world. Due to these enforced limitations, a drastic drop in air pollution and an improvement in air quality were observed. The present study used six air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) to observe trends before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown period in Nanjing, China. The data were divided into six phases: P1–P3, pre-lockdown (1 October–31 December 2019), lockdown (1 January–31 March 2020), after lockdown (1 April–30 June 2020), P4–P6: the same dates as the lockdown but during 2017, 2018 and 2019. The results indicate that compared with the pre-lockdown phase, the PM10 and PM2.5 average concentrations decreased by –27.71% and –5.09%. Compared with the previous three years, 2017–2019, the reductions in PM10 and PM2.5 were –37.99% and –33.56%, respectively. Among other pollutants, concentrations of SO2 (–32.90%), NO2 (–34.66%) and CO (–16.85%) also decreased during the lockdown, while the concentration of O3 increased by approximately 25.45%. Moreover, compared with the pre- and during lockdown phases, PM10, PM2.5 and NO2 showed decreasing trends while SO2, CO and O3 concentrations increased. These findings present a road map for upcoming studies and provide a new path for policymakers to create policies to improve air quality.
Collapse
|
19
|
Anugerah AR, Muttaqin PS, Purnama DA. Effect of large-scale social restriction (PSBB) during COVID-19 on outdoor air quality: Evidence from five cities in DKI Jakarta Province, Indonesia. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 197:111164. [PMID: 33872645 PMCID: PMC8639219 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The variation in the concentration of outdoor air pollutants during the COVID-19 lockdown was studied in Jakarta, Indonesia. The term lockdown was replaced by large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Indonesia by more flexible regulations to save the economy. Data on five air pollutants, namely, PM10, SO2, CO, O3, and NO2, from five monitoring stations located in five regions in Jakarta (West, East, Central, North, and South Jakarta) were utilized. We analyzed the changes in the concentrations of outdoor air pollutants before lockdown from January 1 to April 9, 2020, and during lockdown from April 10 to June 4, 2020. Overall, the CO concentration (39.9%) demonstrated the most significant reduction during lockdown, followed by NO2 (7.5%) and then SO2 (5.7%). However, we unexpectedly found that during lockdown, the PM10 concentration in Jakarta increased by 10.9% due to the southwest monsoon during the seasonal change in Jakarta. Among the five cities in Jakarta, East and Central Jakarta experienced the maximum improvement in their air quality, whereas North Jakarta had the least air quality improvement. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first to study the effect of lockdown on outdoor air quality improvement in Indonesia using ground-level measurement data. The findings of the study provide additional strategies to the regulatory bodies for the reduction of temporal air pollutants in Jakarta, Indonesia, by restricting people mobility as a supplementary initiative.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adhe Rizky Anugerah
- Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Prafajar Suksessanno Muttaqin
- Department of Logistics Engineering, School of Industrial and System Engineering, Telkom University, 40257, Bandung, Indonesia.
| | - Dwi Adi Purnama
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, 55281, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Talbot N, Takada A, Bingham AH, Elder D, Lay Yee S, Golubiewski NE. An investigation of the impacts of a successful COVID-19 response and meteorology on air quality in New Zealand. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT (OXFORD, ENGLAND : 1994) 2021; 254:118322. [PMID: 34035656 PMCID: PMC8137364 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about national restrictions on people's movements, in effect commencing a socially engineered transport emission reduction experiment. In New Zealand during the most restrictive alert level (Level 4), roadside concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were reduced 48-54% compared to Business-as-usual (BAU) values. NO2 concentrations rapidly returned to near mean levels as the alert levels decreased and restrictions eased. PM10 and PM2.5 responded differently to NO2 during the different alert levels. This is due to particulates having multiple sources, many of natural origin and therefore less influenced by human activity. PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were reduced during alert level 4 but to a lesser extent than NO2 and with more variability across regions. Particulate concentrations increased notably during alert level 2 when many airsheds reported concentrations above the BAU means. To provide robust BAU reference concentrations, simple 5-year means were calculated along with predictions from machine learning modelling that, in effect, removed the influence of meteorology on observed concentrations. The results of this study show that latter method was found to be more closely aligned to observed values for NO2 as well as PM2.5 and PM10 away from coastal regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nick Talbot
- Ministry for the Environment, Auckland, New Zealand
- University of Auckland, School of Environment, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Akika Takada
- Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, New Zealand
| | | | - Dan Elder
- Ministry for the Environment, Wellington, New Zealand
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
21
|
Rahman MM, Paul KC, Hossain MA, Ali GGMN, Rahman MS, Thill JC. Machine Learning on the COVID-19 Pandemic, Human Mobility and Air Quality: A Review. IEEE ACCESS : PRACTICAL INNOVATIONS, OPEN SOLUTIONS 2021; 9:72420-72450. [PMID: 34786314 PMCID: PMC8545207 DOI: 10.1109/access.2021.3079121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic is touching every facet of human lives (e.g., public health, education, economy, transportation, and the environment). This novel pandemic and non-pharmaceutical interventions of lockdown and confinement implemented citywide, regionally or nationally are affecting virus transmission, people's travel patterns, and air quality. Many studies have been conducted to predict the diffusion of the COVID-19 disease, assess the impacts of the pandemic on human mobility and on air quality, and assess the impacts of lockdown measures on viral spread with a range of Machine Learning (ML) techniques. This literature review aims to analyze the results from past research to understand the interactions among the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown measures, human mobility, and air quality. The critical review of prior studies indicates that urban form, people's socioeconomic and physical conditions, social cohesion, and social distancing measures significantly affect human mobility and COVID-19 viral transmission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are inclined to use private transportation for necessary travel to mitigate coronavirus-related health problems. This review study also noticed that COVID-19 related lockdown measures significantly improve air quality by reducing the concentration of air pollutants, which in turn improves the COVID-19 situation by reducing respiratory-related sickness and deaths. It is argued that ML is a powerful, effective, and robust analytic paradigm to handle complex and wicked problems such as a global pandemic. This study also explores the spatio-temporal aspects of lockdown and confinement measures on coronavirus diffusion, human mobility, and air quality. Additionally, we discuss policy implications, which will be helpful for policy makers to take prompt actions to moderate the severity of the pandemic and improve urban environments by adopting data-driven analytic methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Md. Mokhlesur Rahman
- The William States Lee College of EngineeringUniversity of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotteNC28223USA
- Department of Urban and Regional PlanningKhulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET)Khulna9203Bangladesh
| | - Kamal Chandra Paul
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringThe William States Lee College of EngineeringUniversity of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotteNC28223USA
| | - Md. Amjad Hossain
- Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and EngineeringShepherd UniversityShepherdstownWV25443USA
| | - G. G. Md. Nawaz Ali
- Department of Applied Computer ScienceUniversity of CharlestonCharlestonWV25304USA
| | - Md. Shahinoor Rahman
- Department of Earth and Environmental SciencesNew Jersey City UniversityJersey CityNJ07305USA
| | - Jean-Claude Thill
- Department of Geography and Earth SciencesSchool of Data ScienceUniversity of North Carolina at CharlotteCharlotteNC28223USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Intraregional propagation of Covid-19 cases in Pará, Brazil: assessment of isolation regime to lockdown. Epidemiol Infect 2021; 149:e72. [PMID: 33592163 PMCID: PMC7985889 DOI: 10.1017/s095026882100039x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the high incidence of COVID-19 case numbers internationally, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of global relevance, advising countries to follow protocols to combat pandemic advance through actions that can reduce spread and consequently avoid a collapse in the local health system. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics of the evolution of new community cases, and mortality records of COVID-19 in the State of Pará, which has a subtropical climate with temperatures between 20 and 35 °C, after the implementation of social distancing by quarantine and adoption of lockdown. The follow-up was carried out by the daily data from the technical bulletins provided by the State of Pará Public Health Secretary (SESPA). On 18 March 2020, Pará notified the first case of COVID-19. After 7 weeks, the number of confirmed cases reached 4756 with 375 deaths. The results show it took 49 days for 81% of the 144 states municipalities, distributed over an area of approximately 1 248 000 km2 to register COVID-19 cases. Temperature variations between 24.5 and 33.1 °C did not promote the decline in the new infections curve. The association between social isolation, quarantine and lockdown as an action to contain the infection was effective in reducing the region's new cases registration of COVID-19 in the short-term. However, short periods of lockdown may have promoted the virus spread among peripheral municipalities of the capital, as well as to inland regions.
Collapse
|
23
|
Anil I, Alagha O. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the air quality of Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2021; 14:117-128. [PMID: 32904471 PMCID: PMC7455507 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-020-00918-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Since the identification of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the death toll from the direct infection by COVID-19 has exceeded 775,000, and more than 21 million cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) around the world. It is strongly believed that its impact might be worsened by poor outdoor and indoor air qualities, particularly on older adults. The nationwide lockdown measures were imposed between March 23 and June 20, 2020, to stop the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In this work, the possible effects of the lockdown on the air quality were investigated using meteorological and air quality datasets obtained from eight monitoring stations covering the Eastern Province of the KSA. The studied air pollutants include carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and inhalable particulate matter (PM10). The NO2 was found to be the marker pollutant responding best to the lockdown measures since its concentrations decreased at all sites during- and post-lockdown periods and ranged between 12-86% and 14-81%, respectively. Compared with pre-lockdown period, the Eastern Province also experienced significant concentration reductions at varying rates for PM10 (21-70%), CO (5.8-55%), and SO2 (8.7-30%), while O3 concentrations showed increasing rates ranging between 6.3 and 45%. The consequences of these reductions were reflected in easing the outdoor air quality, which might reduce the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, especially on elderly and sensitive groups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ismail Anil
- Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering A13,, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Main Campus, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 34212 Saudi Arabia
| | - Omar Alagha
- Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering A13,, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Main Campus, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 34212 Saudi Arabia
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Girdhar A, Kapur H, Kumar V, Kaur M, Singh D, Damasevicius R. Effect of COVID-19 outbreak on urban health and environment. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2021; 14:389-397. [PMID: 33072226 PMCID: PMC7547913 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-020-00944-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The WHO announced coronavirus disease a Public Health Emergency on 30 January 2020, and it spreads across the whole planet. Aftermath of outbreak of this disease at the global level is more frightening and panicking than anyone's worst nightmare. With more than 23 mln positive coronavirus cases and more than 800,000 causalities all over the world, the potential of this virus cannot be undermined. This pandemic has victimized all human beings residing on 209 countries and territories of the world. It emerged as an unbeatable global challenge that the world has never witnessed before. Consequently, the affected countries have sealed their borders and made populations reside in their homes until the pandemic is over. Thus, the victims of coronavirus are not only the ones who are exposed to it but also the ones who are affected by the lockdown imposed by the governments. The paper aims to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on air pollution of various countries. Papers indicating the relationship between air pollution levels and lockdown measures are analyzed. The dramatic U-turn from environmental degradation is definitely a silver lining in these black clouds. This paper reviews the repercussions of the pandemic in some nations, while war-like preparations continue to fight it. COVID-19 has dramatically improved the quality of air. Also, it has greatly affected the economy of various countries due to lockdown.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ashish Girdhar
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India
| | | | - Vijay Kumar
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, India
| | - Manjit Kaur
- Computer Science Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Bennett University, Greater Noida, 201310 India
| | - Dilbag Singh
- Computer Science Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Bennett University, Greater Noida, 201310 India
| | - Robertas Damasevicius
- Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
- Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Fuwape IA, Okpalaonwuka CT, Ogunjo ST. Impact of COVID -19 pandemic lockdown on distribution of inorganic pollutants in selected cities of Nigeria. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2021; 14:149-155. [PMID: 32922563 PMCID: PMC7474574 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-020-00921-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 global pandemic has necessitated some drastic measures to curb its spread. Several countries around the world instituted partial or total lockdown as part of the control measures for the pandemic. This presented a unique opportunity to study air pollution under reduced human activities. In this study, we investigated the impact of the lockdown on air pollution in three highly populated and industrious cities in Nigeria. Compared with historical mean values, NO2 levels increased marginally by 0.3% and 12% in Lagos and Kaduna respectively. However, the city of Port Harcourt saw a decrease of 1.1% and 215.5% in NO2 and SO2 levels respectively. Elevated levels of O3 were observed during the period of lockdown. Our result suggests that there are other sources of air pollution apart from transportation and industrial sources. Our findings showed that the COVID-19-induced lockdown was responsible for a decrease in NO2 levels in two of the locations studied. These results presents an opportunity for country wide policies to mitigate the impact of air pollution on the health of citizens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- I. A. Fuwape
- Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State Nigeria
- Present Address: Michael and Cecilia Ibru University, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State Nigeria
| | - C. T. Okpalaonwuka
- Department of Physics, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State Nigeria
| | - S. T. Ogunjo
- Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State Nigeria
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Kumari P, Toshniwal D. Impact of lockdown on air quality over major cities across the globe during COVID-19 pandemic. URBAN CLIMATE 2020; 34:100719. [PMID: 33083215 PMCID: PMC7562773 DOI: 10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
In present study, the variation in concentration of key air pollutants such as PM 2.5, PM 10, NO 2, SO 2 and O 3 during the pre-lockdown and post-lockdown phase has been investigated. In addition, the monthly concentration of air pollutants in March, April and May of 2020 is also compared with that of 2019 to unfold the effect of restricted emissions under similar meteorological conditions. To evaluate the global impact of COVID-19 on the air quality, ground-based data from 162 monitoring stations from 12 cities across the globe are analysed for the first time. The concentration of PM 2.5, PM 10 and NO 2 were reduced by 20-34%, 24-47% and 32-64%, respectively, due to restriction on anthropogenic emission sources during lockdown. However, a lower reduction in SO 2 was observed due to functional power plants. O 3 concentration was found to be increased due to the declined emission of NO. Nevertheless, the achieved improvements were temporary as the pollution level has gone up again in cities where lockdown was lifted. The study might assist the environmentalist, government and policymakers to curb down the air pollution in future by implementing the strategic lockdowns at the pollution hotspots with minimal economic loss.
Collapse
Key Words
- AQI, Air Quality Index
- Air quality
- BC, Black carbon
- CO, Carbon monoxide
- COVID-19, Coronavirus diseases 2019
- Covid-19
- MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ≤10 μm
- NO2
- NO2, Nitrogen dioxide
- O3, Ozone
- PHEIC, Public Health Emergency of International Concern
- PM10
- PM2.5
- PM2.5, PM10, Particulate matter with diameters
- Pollution
- SARS-CoV, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus ≤2.5 μm
- SO2, Sulphur dioxide
- WHO, World Health Organization
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pratima Kumari
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
| | - Durga Toshniwal
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Kumari P, Toshniwal D. Impact of lockdown on air quality over major cities across the globe during COVID-19 pandemic. URBAN CLIMATE 2020; 34:100719. [PMID: 33083215 DOI: 10.1016/j.uclim.2020.100729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
In present study, the variation in concentration of key air pollutants such as PM 2.5, PM 10, NO 2, SO 2 and O 3 during the pre-lockdown and post-lockdown phase has been investigated. In addition, the monthly concentration of air pollutants in March, April and May of 2020 is also compared with that of 2019 to unfold the effect of restricted emissions under similar meteorological conditions. To evaluate the global impact of COVID-19 on the air quality, ground-based data from 162 monitoring stations from 12 cities across the globe are analysed for the first time. The concentration of PM 2.5, PM 10 and NO 2 were reduced by 20-34%, 24-47% and 32-64%, respectively, due to restriction on anthropogenic emission sources during lockdown. However, a lower reduction in SO 2 was observed due to functional power plants. O 3 concentration was found to be increased due to the declined emission of NO. Nevertheless, the achieved improvements were temporary as the pollution level has gone up again in cities where lockdown was lifted. The study might assist the environmentalist, government and policymakers to curb down the air pollution in future by implementing the strategic lockdowns at the pollution hotspots with minimal economic loss.
Collapse
Key Words
- AQI, Air Quality Index
- Air quality
- BC, Black carbon
- CO, Carbon monoxide
- COVID-19, Coronavirus diseases 2019
- Covid-19
- MERS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ≤10 μm
- NO2
- NO2, Nitrogen dioxide
- O3, Ozone
- PHEIC, Public Health Emergency of International Concern
- PM10
- PM2.5
- PM2.5, PM10, Particulate matter with diameters
- Pollution
- SARS-CoV, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus ≤2.5 μm
- SO2, Sulphur dioxide
- WHO, World Health Organization
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pratima Kumari
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
| | - Durga Toshniwal
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Integrating in situ Measurements and City Scale Modelling to Assess the COVID–19 Lockdown Effects on Emissions and Air Quality in Athens, Greece. ATMOSPHERE 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos11111174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The lockdown measures implemented worldwide to slow the spread of the COVID–19 pandemic have allowed for a unique real-world experiment, regarding the impacts of drastic emission cutbacks on urban air quality. In this study we assess the effects of a 7-week (23 March–10 May 2020) lockdown in the Greater Area of Athens, coupling in situ observations with estimations from a meteorology-atmospheric chemistry model. Measurements in central Athens during the lockdown were compared with levels during the pre- and post-lockdown 3-week periods and with respective levels in the four previous years. We examined regulatory pollutants as well as CO2, black carbon (BC) and source-specific BC components. Models were run for pre-lockdown and lockdown periods, under baseline and reduced-emissions scenarios. The in-situ results indicate mean concentration reductions of 30–35% for traffic-related pollutants in Athens (NO2, CO, BC from fossil fuel combustion), compared to the pre-lockdown period. A large reduction (53%) was observed also for the urban CO2 enhancement while the reduction for PM2.5 was subtler (18%). Significant reductions were also observed when comparing the 2020 lockdown period with past years. However, levels rebounded immediately following the lift of the general lockdown. The decrease in measured NO2 concentrations was reproduced by the implementation of the city scale model, under a realistic reduced-emissions scenario for the lockdown period, anchored at a 46% decline of road transport activity. The model permitted the assessment of air quality improvements on a spatial scale, indicating that NO2 mean concentration reductions in areas of the Athens basin reached up to 50%. The findings suggest a potential for local traffic management strategies to reduce ambient exposure and to minimize exceedances of air quality standards for primary pollutants.
Collapse
|
29
|
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led countries to take action, which has included practicing social distancing or lockdown. Many cities are experiencing air quality improvements due to human activity restrictions. The purpose of this study was to compare the air quality between 2020 and the previous three years, focusing on the two cities (Seoul and Daegu) where coronavirus is spreading the fastest in Korea. Significant decreases in PM2.5, PM10, CO, and NO2 were observed in both cities. In particular, compared to the same period of 2017-2019, in March 2020, PM2.5 showed remarkable reductions of 36% and 30% in Seoul and Daegu, respectively. The effects of social distancing have maximized improvements in air quality due to reduced transboundary pollutants. The PM2.5/PM10 ratio was significantly reduced after social distancing, indicating that the contribution of traffic-related PM2.5 declined. Air quality improved overall from January to July, and the most noticeable drop in the air quality index (AQI) was observed in April. These findings indicate that relatively weak social distancing measures compared to a COVID-19 lockdown can help reduce air pollutant levels. At the same time, however, changes in air quality in the neighboring countries caused by COVID-19 control action are affecting Korea.
Collapse
|
30
|
Ifa S, Driss Z. Numerical simulation and experimental validation of the ventilation system performance in a heated room. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2020; 14:171-179. [PMID: 32922561 PMCID: PMC7473412 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-020-00923-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The time spent by the occupant indoor the building is significant; therefore, the central objective of the major research was the evaluation of the thermal sensation for the existing people. This study examines the numerical simulation in a room containing a manikin sitting in front of a computer. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools were considered using ANSYS Fluent 16.2 software. This software exploits the finite volume method that is based on the resolution of the Navier-Stokes equations. The distribution of the temperature, velocity, static pressure, turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent viscosity, and turbulent dissipation is tested in different planes and different directions to characterize the airflow indoor a heated room. Equally, the thermal comfort is examined by calculating the predicted mean vote (PMV). The comparison between the numerical results and the experimental data founded from the literature prove that the supply of airflow was affected by the presence of the heat sources and the thermal climate is considered as a slightly hot. The use of the adequate meshes is in a good agreement with the experimental data and confirms the validity of the numerical approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sondes Ifa
- Laboratory of Electro-Mechanic Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax (ENIS), Univrsity of Sfax, B.P. 1173, km 3.5 Soukra, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia
| | - Zied Driss
- Laboratory of Electro-Mechanic Systems (LASEM), National School of Engineers of Sfax (ENIS), Univrsity of Sfax, B.P. 1173, km 3.5 Soukra, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Anil I, Alagha O. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the air quality of Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2020; 14:117-128. [PMID: 32904471 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-020-00918-3/tables/1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Since the identification of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the death toll from the direct infection by COVID-19 has exceeded 775,000, and more than 21 million cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) around the world. It is strongly believed that its impact might be worsened by poor outdoor and indoor air qualities, particularly on older adults. The nationwide lockdown measures were imposed between March 23 and June 20, 2020, to stop the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In this work, the possible effects of the lockdown on the air quality were investigated using meteorological and air quality datasets obtained from eight monitoring stations covering the Eastern Province of the KSA. The studied air pollutants include carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and inhalable particulate matter (PM10). The NO2 was found to be the marker pollutant responding best to the lockdown measures since its concentrations decreased at all sites during- and post-lockdown periods and ranged between 12-86% and 14-81%, respectively. Compared with pre-lockdown period, the Eastern Province also experienced significant concentration reductions at varying rates for PM10 (21-70%), CO (5.8-55%), and SO2 (8.7-30%), while O3 concentrations showed increasing rates ranging between 6.3 and 45%. The consequences of these reductions were reflected in easing the outdoor air quality, which might reduce the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, especially on elderly and sensitive groups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ismail Anil
- Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering A13,, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Main Campus, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 34212 Saudi Arabia
| | - Omar Alagha
- Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering A13,, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Main Campus, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 34212 Saudi Arabia
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Bashir MF, MA B, Shahzad L. A brief review of socio-economic and environmental impact of Covid-19. AIR QUALITY, ATMOSPHERE, & HEALTH 2020; 13:1403-1409. [PMID: 32837620 PMCID: PMC7395801 DOI: 10.1007/s11869-020-00894-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
In recent months, Covid-19 has caused significant global social and economic distress. Governments and health officials around the world have introduced mandatory preventive measures to combat Covid-19, i.e., hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks, which have contributed to large quantities of medical wastes. Social distancing and mandatory lockdown have also been put in place to protect people from Covid-19. This epidemic has caused severe demographic changes and unemployment, and economic activities have been shut down to save human lives. Transportation and travel industries are most severely hit as global tourism has fallen to almost zero in recent months; as a solution, economic institutes have introduced stimulus packages worth more than $6 trillion. However, restricted economic activities have also contributed towards a cleaner environment. However, environmental changes are not permanent, and the pollution level may rise again in the future. As a result, current research suggests that policymakers must introduce stringent environmental policies to promote clean energy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Farhan Bashir
- School of Business, Central South University, Changsha, 410083 Hunan People’s Republic of China
| | - Benjiang MA
- School of Business, Central South University, Changsha, 410083 Hunan People’s Republic of China
| | - Luqman Shahzad
- School of Business, Central South University, Changsha, 410083 Hunan People’s Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|