IMPACT OF THE COVID19 LOCKDOWN ON AIR POLLUTION IN AN INDUSTRIAL CITY IN NORTHEASTERN CHINA

Many studies in China investigated how the lockdown following the coronavirus disease 2019 substantially affected air quality; however, few were conducted in Northeastern China. Here, the changes in six criteria air pollutants, including particulate matter ([PM.sub.10] and [PM.sub.2.5]), nitrogen di...

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Published inJournal of environmental engineering and landscape management Vol. 31; no. 3; p. 219
Main Authors Wang, Xueyan, Wang, Yuqing, Zhao, Yiran, Tian, Meijin, Wu, Xinmeng, Zhang, Yongzhen, Gao, Feng, Sun, Junjiao, Wei, Xiaoqing, Yang, Xiuying, Qu, Xiaohan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Vilnius Gediminas Technical University 01.09.2023
Subjects
Air pollution
Air quality
Air quality indexes
Air quality management
Comparative analysis
Coronaviruses
Nitrogen dioxide
Pollutants
Sulfur compounds
China
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Summary:Many studies in China investigated how the lockdown following the coronavirus disease 2019 substantially affected air quality; however, few were conducted in Northeastern China. Here, the changes in six criteria air pollutants, including particulate matter ([PM.sub.10] and [PM.sub.2.5]), nitrogen dioxide (N[O.sub.2]), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide ([SO.sub.2]), and ozone ([O.sub.3]), were investigated in Shenyang from January to May 2015-2020. Compared with the pre-lockdown, the mass concentrations of [PM.sub.2.5], [PM.sub.10], [SO.sub.2], N[O.sub.2], and CO during the lockdown decreased by 40.3% to 48.6%, indicating a positive impact of lockdown policies on reducing pollutant emissions. The responses of [PM.sub.2.5], [PM.sub.10], and CO to the lockdown measures in downtown areas were more sensitive than in the suburbs. However, the [O.sub.3] concentration showed the opposite trend, attributed to the drop in [NO.sub.x] and particulate matters. Compared to the same period in 2015-2019, the proportion of days with good air quality increased from 63.2% to 77.2% during the lockdown and Shenyang experienced no severe pollution. Our results suggest that reducing human activities can improve air quality; however, coordinated control policies of [O.sub.3], [PM.sub.2.5], and N[O.sub.2] are imperative. Keywords: novel coronavirus, air quality index, spatiotemporal distribution, lockdown, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone. Online supplementary material: Supporting information for this paper is available as online supplementary material at
ISSN:1648-6897
DOI:10.3846/jeelm.2023.19472