Environment and health co-benefits of vehicle emission control policy in Hubei, China

Vehicle exhaust has been important source of atmospheric pollution in China. In terms of the environmental effects of vehicle emission control policies (VECPs), changes in air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are receiving increasing attention. Hubei has implemented many traffic controls to accelerate pollution abatement. However, few studies have reported how they would affect pollutant emissions in Hubei in the future, as most concentrate on assessments during COVID-19. Further, there has been little research on whether these controls bring observable health benefits. Thus, this study comprehensively evaluates the emission of major air pollutants (including NOx, CO, VOCs, PM2.5, PM10, and PMTSP) and GHGs (CO2, CH4, and N2O) from the transportation sector concerning different VECPs in Hubei during 2015–2050, together with health outcomes. It highlights that individual VECPs contribute differently to environmental and health benefits, encouraging innovation in mechanisms and technologies to mitigate atmospheric pollution while generating health benefits.

Air pollution with pm10 for the municipality of Burgas and the monthly cases of disease with COVID 19, 2021

An important environmental problem for the Municipality of Burgas is the relatively high levels of PM10 pollution. Particulate matter PM10 is defined as the fraction of particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 pm. The article provides statistical processing and evaluation of daily data on the concentration of PM10 in the air by quarters fix Burgas, 2021. A histogram of the frequency distribution of concentrations by quarters was prepared. A regression model for calculating the monthly concentrations in the atmospheric air is derived The tests and inspections performed show that the performed modelling is suitable for evaluation, analysis and forecast. Air pollution harms human health and the environment. Exposure ID air pollution is associated with a wide range of acute and chronic health effects, ranging from irritating effects to death From the end of 2019 until now in the world, Europe and in particular Bulgaria is raging a dangerous respiratory disease known as COVD19. The average monthly new cases of COVD19 for Burgas were assessed, as well as the respective maximum and minimum monthly values. A qualitative assessment of the relationship between the monthly concentrations of PM10 and the incidence of COVID19 was made.

Performance of Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) for Short-Term Prediction of PM10 Concentration in the Peninsular Malaysia

In preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) in Malaysia, the government envisions a path to environmental sustainability and an improvement in air quality. Air quality measurements were initiated in different backgrounds including urban, suburban, industrial and rural to detect any significant changes in air quality parameters. Due to the dynamic nature of the weather, geographical location and anthropogenic sources, many uncertainties must be considered when dealing with air pollution data. In recent years, the Bayesian approach to fitting statistical models has gained more popularity due to its alternative modelling strategy that accounted for uncertainties for all air quality parameters. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the performance of Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) in predicting the next-day PM10 concentration in Peninsular Malaysia. A case study utilized seventeen years' worth of air quality monitoring data from nine (9) monitoring stations located in Peninsular Malaysia, using eight air quality parameters, i.e., PM10, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. The performances of the next-day PM10 prediction were calculated using five models' performance evaluators, namely Coefficient of Determination (R2), Index of Agreement (IA), Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE). The BMA models indicate that relative humidity, wind speed and PM10 contributed the most to the prediction model for the majority of stations with (R2 = 0.752 at Pasir Gudang monitoring station), (R2 = 0.749 at Larkin monitoring station), (R2 = 0.703 at Kota Bharu monitoring station), (R2 = 0.696 at Kangar monitoring station) and (R2 = 0.692 at Jerantut monitoring station), respectively. Furthermore, the BMA models demonstrated a good prediction model performance, with IA ranging from 0.84 to 0.91, R2 ranging from 0.64 to 0.75 and KGE ranging from 0.61 to 0.74 for all monitoring stations. According to the results of the investigation, BMA should be utilised in research and forecasting operations pertaining to environmental issues such as air pollution. From this study, BMA is recommended as one of the prediction tools for forecasting air pollution concentration, especially particulate matter level.

Changes of Air Pollutants in Urban Cities during the COVID-19 Lockdown-Sri Lanka

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Sri Lanka underwent a nationwide lockdown that limited motor vehicle movement, industrial operations, and human activities. This study analyzes the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) concentrations in two urban cities (Colombo and Kandy) in Sri Lanka, by comparison of data from the lockdown period (March to May 2020) with its analogous period of 2019 and 2021. The results showed that the percentage change of daytime PM10, PM2.5, CO, and NO2 concentration during the lockdown in Colombo (Kandy) is –42.3% (–39.5%), –46% (–54.2%), –14.7% (–8.8%) and –82.2% (–80.9%), respectively. In both cities, the response of NO2 to the lockdown was the most sensitive. In contrast, daytime O3 concentration in Colombo (Kandy) has increased by 6.7% (27.2%), suggesting that the increase in O3 concentration was mainly due to a reduction in NOx emissions leading to lower O3 titration by NO. In addition, daytime SO2 concentration in Colombo has increased by 22.9%, while daytime SO2 concentration in Kandy has decreased by –40%. During the lockdown period, human activities were significantly reduced, causing significant reductions in industrial operations and transportation activities, further reducing emissions and improving air quality in two cities. The results of this study offer potential for local authorities to better understand the emission sources, assess the effectiveness of current air pollution control strategies, and form a basis for formulating better environmental policies to improve air quality and human health. © The Author(s).

Integral Assessment of Atmospheric Air Quality in the Largest Cities of Russia Based on TROPOMI (Sentinel-5P) Data for 2019–2020

This paper considers the level of atmospheric air pollution of the 20 largest cities in Russia in 2019–2020. The data used for the study is initially collected by a TROPOMI instrument (on the Sentinel-5P satellite), including measurements of carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and aerosol (aerosol index). The measurements were obtained using the cloud-based platform, Google Earth Engine, which presents L3 level data available for direct analysis. The Tropomi Air Quality Index (TAQI) integrates available TROPOMI measurements into a single indicator. The calculation results showed that most of the cities under consideration (15 out of 20) have a low or higher than usual level of pollution. Formaldehyde (35.7%) and nitrogen dioxide (26.4%) play the main role in the composition of pollution particles. A significant share is occupied by sulfur dioxide (16.4%). The contribution of carbon monoxide and aerosol averages 10.8 and 10.6%, respectively. Air pollution in cities is caused by both natural (wildfires, dust storms) and anthropogenic (seasonal migrations of the population, restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic) factors. Estimating atmospheric pollution levels in urban areas using an integral index based on remote data (such as TAQI) can be considered as a valuable information addition to existing ground-based measuring systems within the multisensory paradigm.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration in Kathmandu, Nepal

This paper reports a study on the statistics for particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) and the COVID-19 lockdown in the Kathmandu valley. The PM2.5 decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown periods 2020 compared to the average value of the previous three years (2017, 2018, and 2019). Further, analysis of active fire and air mass trajectory for April and May in 2019 and 2020 shows that the particulate matter trend associated with Kathmandu is not directly influenced by the long-range transport of wind carrying aerosols from the active fire regions. Statistical tests indicate a reduction of particulate matter pollution during the period.

Risk assessment on air environment control in ship negative pressure ward

OBJECTIVE: To explore the air environment control in ship negative pressure ward and conduct the risk assessment. METHODS: STARCCM+ simulation software was employed to simulate the air environment in the negative pressure ward of ships, and the impact of ventilation volume, non-equilibrium pressure difference and open/close door disturbance on the flow of polluted gas in the ward and the pressure control between compartments was observed. RESULTS: It was found that the pressure gradient and airflow direction of adjacent cabins were basically the same under different ventilation conditions;the pressure fluctuation of the medical corridor had the greatest impact on the buffer room, and when the negative pressure fluctuated higher than the design value, the pressure difference between the buffer room and the negative pressure ward was lower than the design requirement of 5 Pa;when the cabin door was opened from the buffer room to the corridor, that was, when the cabin door was opened to an area with low negative pressure, a low pressure area appears in the buffer room, and the polluted air flowed from the corridor to the buffer room. Finally, the risk of airborne infection was assessed by using the Wells-Riley model, doubling the amount of ventilation reduced the probability of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection by about 100%. The results showed that the ventilation volume had little effect on the pressure control, but it wound affect the probability of transmission of viral infection;the pressure fluctuation in a certain compartment would affect the pressure in other areas, so that the pressure control between the compartments did not meet the design requirements, opening the hatch door to the area with low negative pressure could reduce the risk of virus transmission. CONCLUSION: The research provides guidance for the air environment control in the ship's negative pressure isolation ward so as to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the ship.

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on air pollution at a local scale in urban areas affected by high-intensity vehicle traffic in Poland

The lockdown in 2020 implemented due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has resulted in a significant improvement in air quality at a global scale. Nationwide lockdown also considerably improved air quality at a local scale, especially in cities which were almost completely shut down during the first coronavirus wave, with nearly no activity. We tested the hypothesis that a reduction in the intensity of vehicle traffic causes a drastic decrease in urban air pollution at a local scale. We focused on two urban agglomerations, Warsaw and Cracow, in Poland. Data of the concentrations of traffic-related sources, namely NOx, PM10, and PM2.5, obtained from two air pollution monitoring stations were analyzed for the years 2020 and 2021, during which lockdown and pandemic restrictions were in effect, and for 2019, as a reference. In the years 2020–2021, the average annual concentration of NOx was decreased by ~ 19%, PM2.5 by ~ 19%, and PM10 by ~ 18% in Warsaw, while in Cracow the average annual concentration of NOx was decreased by ~ 16%, PM2.5 by ~ 22%, and PM10 by ~ 2%, compared to 2019. The contribution from traffic-related sources to the overall level of air pollution was estimated. The results indicated that ~ 30 µg/m3 of PM10, ~ 15 µg/m3 of PM2.5, and ~ 120 µg/m3 of NOx in Cracow, and ~ 20 µg/m3 of PM2.5 in Warsaw originate from moving vehicles. The nationwide lockdown allowed us to conduct this study to understand how a reduction in local traffic emissions can decrease ambient air pollution levels.

A Practical Green Infrastructure Intervention to Mitigate Air Pollution in a UK School Playground

Air pollution severely compromises children's health and development, causing physical and mental implications. We have explored the use of site-specific green infrastructure (green barriers) in a school playground in Sheffield, UK, as an air-pollution-mitigation measure to improve children's environment. The study assessed air quality pre-post intervention and compared it with two control sites. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter <2.5 µm in size (PM2.5) concentration change was assessed via three methods: (1) continuous monitoring with fixed devices (de-seasonalised);(2) monthly monitoring with diffusion tubes (spatial analysis);(3) intermittent monitoring with a mobile device at children's height (spatial analysis). De-seasonalised results indicate a reduction of 13% for NO2 and of 2% for PM2.5 in the school playground after two years of plant establishment. Further reductions in NO2 levels (25%) were observed during an exceptionally low mobility period (first COVID-19 lockdown);this is contrary to PM2.5 levels, which increased. Additionally, particles captured by a green barrier plant, Hedera helix ‘Woerner', were observed and analysed using SEM/EDX techniques. Particle elemental analysis suggested natural and potential anthropogenic origins, potentially signalling vehicle traffic. Overall, green barriers are a valid complementary tool to improve school air quality, with quantifiable and significant air pollution changes even in our space-constrained site. © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals Distinct Impact of Aerosols on Surface Solar Radiation in China

With the abrupt and significant drop of PM2.5 concentrations during the lockdown in 2020, hourly direct radiation (Rdir) at surface substantially increased in East China, such as Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Baoshan, with the maximum enhancement of 86% at Wuhan. Most of these stations had decreased diffuse radiation (Rdif) except Zhengzhou. Zhengzhou had both enhanced Rdir and Rdif, as well as reduced but still high PM2.5 concentrations, indicating atmospheric particles were more scattering in this region. At Beijing and Harbin in North and Northeast China, intensification of aerosol pollution led to hourly Rdir (Rdif) falling (rising) up to −28% (59%) and −23% (40%), respectively. By contrast, surface solar radiation (SSR) in West China was also greatly influenced by the elevated dust/smoke layers, revealed by aerosol layer vertical distribution and the reduction of SSR and PM2.5 concentrations. This study highlighted the importance of aerosol optical properties and vertical structures in aerosol–radiation interactions. © 2023. The Authors.

Footprints of COVID-19 on Pollution in Southern Spain

Background: Many annual deaths in Spain could be avoided if pollution levels were reduced. Every year, several municipalities in the Community of Andalusia, located in southern Spain, exceed the acceptable levels of atmospheric pollution. In this sense, the evolution of primary air pollutants during the March–June 2020 lockdown can be taken as reliable evidence to analyze the effectiveness of potential air quality regulations. Data and Method: Using a multivariate linear regression model, this paper assesses the levels of NO2, O3, and PM10 in Andalusia within the 2017–2020 period, relating these representative indices of air quality with lockdown stages during the pandemic and considering control variables such as climatology, weekends, or the intrusion of Saharan dust. To reveal patterns at a local level between geographic zones, a spatial analysis was performed. Results: The results show that the COVID-19 lockdown had a heterogeneous effect on the analyzed pollutants within Andalusia's geographical regions. In general terms, NO2 and PM10 concentrations decreased in the main metropolitan areas and the industrial districts of Huelva and the Strait of Gibraltar. At the same time, O3 levels rose in high-temperature regions of Cordoba and Malaga. © 2022 by the authors.

The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on air pollution from energy consumption: diverse evidence from China

Based on panel data of 31 provincial capital cities in the country from January 21 to November 20, 2020, this research empirically analyzes the impacts of daily newly confirmed cases and daily new deaths from COVID-19 on PM10, PM2.5, SO2, CO, and NO2 emissions form green energy consumption by using the method of System Generalized Moments (SYS-GMM). We conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic has an inhibitory effect on all types of emissions, in that a greater number of confirmed cases and deaths brings about more stringent anti-epidemic policies, fewer emissions, and better air quality in China. Moreover, we use the methods of sample segmentation, cross-sectional regression, and pollutant emissions of the top three cities in terms of GDP to test their robustness. Overall, our evidence advances the debate over air quality after COVID-19, and that evidence from China provides beneficial experiences that correlate to its provincial data.

The Impact of Changes in Anthropogenic Activity Caused by COVID-19 Lockdown on Reducing Nitrogen Dioxide Levels in Thailand Using Nighttime Light Intensity

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China and has since become a pandemic. Thailand's first lockdown started in the middle of March 2020, restricting anthropogenic activities and inter-provincial traffic. There are few studies on the association between nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels and human activity, primarily because of the difficulty in identifying the changes in anthropogenic activities at a high geographical resolution. Here, we have highlighted satellite-based nighttime light (NTL) as an indicator of anthropogenic activities and investigated the relationship between NTL and reductions in NO2 levels during Thailand's first lockdown in 2020. We applied geographically weighted regression (GWR) to analyze the regional relationship between NTL and changes in NO2 levels during the first lockdown. Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite observation indicated that the NO2 levels decreased by 10.36% compared with those of the same period in 2019. The level of NTL decreased in most urban and built-up (31.66%) categories. According to GWR results, NTL and NO2 levels represent a positive local correlation around the country's central, western, and northern parts and negative correlations in the peripheral regions. These findings imply that NTL observations can be used to monitor changes in NO2 levels caused by urban anthropogenic activities. © 2023 by the authors.

Racial disparities in air pollution burden and COVID-19 deaths in Louisiana, USA, in the context of long-term changes in fine particulate pollution. (Special Issue: Disparities during times of a pandemic and epidemic.)

Black Americans in Louisiana are disproportionately dying from COVID-19, and environmental disparities may be contributing to this injustice. While Black communities in Louisiana's industrialized regions (e.g., Cancer Alley, Calcasieu Parish) have been overburdened with pollution for decades, this disparity has not been evaluated by using recent data. Here, we explore statewide relationships among air pollution burden, race, COVID-19 death rates, and other health/socioeconomic factors. Measures of pollution burden included satellite-derived particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and health risks from toxic air pollution (i.e., respiratory hazard [RH] and immunological hazard [IH], estimated by the Environmental Protection Agency). In addition, we evaluate changes in emissions and ambient concentrations of fine PM2.5 in Louisiana over the past few decades. Our overall goal was to better understand Louisiana's burden of air pollution in the context of COVID-19. By all measures, a higher burden of air pollution was associated with larger percentages of Black residents and increased unemployment across Louisiana census tracts. Across parishes, higher COVID-19 death rates were associated with increased RH and IH and larger percentages of Black residents. These associations were not driven by diabetes, obesity, smoking, age, or poverty. Industrial sources comprised more of Louisiana's PM2.5 in 2017 versus 1990, as vehicle contributions declined 75% whereas industrial emissions remained about the same overall (despite variation in the interim). Ambient concentrations of PM2.5 decreased statewide from 2000 to 2015, but subsequently increased in south Louisiana, concurrent with an upward trend in industrial emissions. Our findings highlight the critical need to address Louisiana's pollution disparities and to recognize air pollution exposure as a risk factor for COVID-19.

Does air quality influence the spread of the SARS - Cov2 in metropolitan cities? - a case study from urban India

COVID 19 pandemic has gradually established itself as the worst pandemic in the last hundred years around the world after initial outbreak in China, including India. To prevent the spread of the infection the Government implemented lockdown measure initially from 24th March to 14th April, 2020 which was later extended to 3rd May, 2020. This lockdown imposed restrictions in human activities, vehicular movements and industrial functioning;resulting in reduced pollution level in the cities. This study was initiated with the objective to identify the change in the air quality of seven megacities in India and to determine any correlation between the active COVID cases with the air quality parameters. Air quality dataset of the most common parameters (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, NH3, CO and Ozone) along with air quality index for 70 stations of seven megacities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Chandigarh) were analysed. Comparison was made between AQI of pre lockdown and during lockdown periods. The results obtained indicate sufficient improvement in air quality during the period of the lockdown. For the next part of the study active COVID cases during the lockdown were compared to the air quality change of that period. A significant correlation between active COVID case and change in the air quality was observed for Delhi and Kolkata with 0.51 and 0.64 R2 values respectively. A positive correlation was also observed between air pollutant parameters and incidents of COVID cases in this study. Thus from the analysis it was identified that air quality index improved considerably as a result of the nationwide lockdown however, there was no significant impact of this improvement on the infection rate of the prevailing pandemic.

Associated impact of the COVID-19 induced lockdown on air quality of Kolkata Metropolitan Area (India)

As a pandemic, COVID 19 spread worldwide in early 2020. Primarily densely populated countries had remained vulnerable due to this biological hazard. Many people were forced to stay home owing to nature of the disease and no respite. A nationwide lockdown was implemented in India for 29 days (March 24th to April 21st) of 2020 during the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the nationwide lockdown, industries, transport, and other commercial activities were suspended, except for necessary services. During the entire pandemic situation, an affirmative impact was observed as the air quality was reported to have improved worldwide. The complete economic lockdown to check COVID-19, brought unforeseen relief from severe condition of air quality. An apparent, reduction in level of PM2.5 and Air Quality Index (AQI) was experienced over Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Present work explores the various metrics of air pollution in Kolkata, West Bengal, India (imposed as a result of containment measure for COVID-19). The polluting parameters (e.g., PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, O3, and NH3) were chosen for seven monitoring stations (Ballygunge, Fort William, Victoria, Bidhannagar, Jadavpur, Rabindra Bharati, Rabindra Sarabar), which are spread across the metropolitan area of Kolkata. National Air Quality Index (NAQI) has been used to show pre-and during-lockdown air quality spatial patterns. The findings showed major changes in air quality throughout the lockdown period. The highest reduction in pollutants emission was observed for: PM10 (- 60.82%), PM2.5 (-45.05%) and NO2 (-62.27%), followed by NH3 (- 32.12%) and SO2 (-32.00%), CO (-47.46%), O3 (15.10%). During the lockdown, the NAQI value was reduced by 52.93% in the study area. © 2022 University of Craiova, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Geography. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Air Quality during Partial Lockdown in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo

Air pollution has become one of the factors that most affect the quality of life, human health, and the environment. Gaseous pollutants from motor vehicles have a significantly harmful effect on air quality in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP)—Brazil. Motor vehicles emit large amounts of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the last three acting as the main tropospheric ozone (O3) precursors. In this study, we evaluated the effects of these pollutants on air quality in the MASP during the partial lockdown that was imposed to ensure the social distancing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared the monthly data for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and CO, SO2, and BC from MERRA-2 for the period between April and May 2020 (during the pandemic) with the average for the same period for the (pre-pandemic) years 2017 to 2019 in the southeast region of Brazil. The meteorological and pollutant concentration data from the CETESB air quality monitoring stations for the MASP were compared with the diurnal cycle of three previous years, with regard to the monthly averages of April and May (2017, 2018, and 2019) and the same period in 2020, when the partial lockdown was first imposed in southeast Brazil. Our findings showed that there was a decrease in NO2 concentrations ranging from 10% to more than 60% in the MASP and the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ), whereas in the Metropolitan Area of Belo Horizonte and Vitoria (MABH and MAV, respectively), there was a reduction of around 10%. In the case of the concentrations of CO and BC from MERRA-2, there was a considerable decrease (approx. 10%) during the period of partial lockdown caused by COVID-19 throughout almost the entire state of São Paulo, particularly in the region bordering the state of Rio de Janeiro. The concentration of SO2 from MERRA-2 was 5 to 10% lower in the MASP and MARJ and the west of the MABH, and there was a decrease of 30 to 50% on the border between the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, while in the MAV region, there was an increase in pollutant levels, as this region was not significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharp reductions in the average hourly concentrations of CO (38.8%), NO (44.9%), NO2 (38.7%), and PM2.5 (6%) were noted at the CETESB air quality monitoring stations in the MASP during the partial lockdown in 2020 compared with the hourly average rate in the pre-pandemic period. In contrast, there was an increase of approximately 16.0% in O3 concentrations in urban areas that are seriously affected by vehicular emissions, which is probably related to a decrease in NOx. © 2023 by the authors.

Significant effect of COVID-19 induced lockdown on air quality of the Indian metropolitan city Kolkata using air quality index and health air quality index

The lockdown, commencing in India from March 23, 2020 to control the escalation of Covid-19 cases, exhibited a positive impact on the air quality. The study attempts to assess the outcome of lockdown on the air quality of Kolkata, India followed by the comparison of six priority pollutants during pre-lockdown, lockdown, and unlock phases. Averaged concentrations of PM10 (72%), PM2.5 (73%), NOx (84%), SO2 (48%), and CO (61%) showed reduction throughout lockdown in comparison with pre-lockdown phase, although no significant reduction was observed in ground-level Ozone. Unlock Phases I and II showed similar concentrations of the pollutants as that in the lockdown period whereas, in unlock Phase-III, the air quality became comparable to that before lockdown. Statistical analysis confirmed that the reduction in air pollution is attributed to atmospheric factors. PCA analysis established significant positive correlation between particulate matters, CO, SO2, and NOx;however, no significant correlation was observed between NOx and O3. January and December showed the highest load of most of the pollutants. Health risk was evaluated by calculating the Relative risk and Health Air Quality Index, which showed maximum health risk during the pre-lockdown and minimum during lockdown and unlock Phase-II with the highest contributor being PM10. The study outcome manifests a reduction in environmental pollution as a result of controlled anthropogenic activities.

The Impact of Public Activity Restriction during COVID-19 to Air Quality in Urban Area of Bandung Measured Using Mobile Monitoring

The COVID-19 outbreak impacted the people's lives in the world. Lockdown is one way of controlling the spread of the virus. In Indonesia, the government would rather implement public activity restriction than lockdown. The detailed comprehension of the effect of lockdown or similar policies on air pollution is valuable for making future policies about the control of pandemics as well as its effect on air quality. To understand the effect of public activity restriction (PAR) and its correlation with air pollution, mobile monitoring (MM) of particulate matter (PM2.5) was performed in the urban area of Bandung, Indonesia, in July 2021. Based on MM using a bicycle, we found that a PAR had an impact on air pollution. Our result showed that there was a decrease between 20% and 30% in 3 of 6 sub-districts. The advantage of MM was highlighted by the prominent visualization of the concentration of PM2.5 MM data at the level of the road. Localization of polluted roads could be seen clearly through the MM method. The uncovering effect of PAR on air pollution using the MM method will provide important insights for government and policymakers to develop future policy that controls air pollution for better citizen health. © 2023, AAGR Aerosol and Air Quality Research. All rights reserved.

Air pollution and meteorological variables' effects on COVID-19 first and second waves in Spain.

The aim of this research is to study the influence of atmospheric pollutants and meteorological variables on the incidence rate of COVID-19 and the rate of hospital admissions due to COVID-19 during the first and second waves in nine Spanish provinces. Numerous studies analyze the effect of environmental and pollution variables separately, but few that include them in the same analysis together, and even fewer that compare their effects between the first and second waves of the virus. This study was conducted in nine of 52 Spanish provinces, using generalized linear models with Poisson link between levels of PM10, NO2 and O3 (independent variables) and maximum temperature and absolute humidity and the rates of incidence and hospital admissions of COVID-19 (dependent variables), establishing a series of significant lags. Using the estimators obtained from the significant multivariate models, the relative risks associated with these variables were calculated for increases of 10 µg/m3 for pollutants, 1 °C for temperature and 1 g/m3 for humidity. The results suggest that NO2 has a greater association than the other air pollution variables and the meteorological variables. There was a greater association with O3 in the first wave and with NO2 in the second. Pollutants showed a homogeneous distribution across the country. We conclude that, compared to other air pollutants and meteorological variables, NO2 is a protagonist that may modulate the incidence and severity of COVID-19, though preventive public health measures such as masking and hand washing are still very important. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13762-022-04190-z.