Air Quality Status in Konya City Centre, Konya, Turkey during Pandemic Covid-19

ABSTRACT

High developed industry regions, provincial centers with a heavy traffic and dense populations with cold winters, using low-quality fossil fuel consumption have an effect on quality of life especially for people with respiratory diseases. The air quality data gathered from air monitoring stations for the City Center of Konya, Turkey were analysed statistically during the period when curfew due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The restrictions that cause the reduction of vehicle exhaust emissions, which are important factors in the formation of some air pollutants, are thought to be effective in improving the air quality as well as meteorological conditions are effective on the days when the air quality is analysed. It is thought that the reduction in HC, NOx, CO and PM emissions, which can be evaluated as exhaust emissions, will be an effective factor due to the restrictions of Covid-19 pandemic. Comparing between the 2019 and 2020 MCO data, we identified that most of the gases decreased with NO2 (-24 µg/m3), SO2 (-24 µg/m3), CO (-37 µg/m3) and an increment of O3 of +50 µg/m3 which indicates that the MCO and restricted of movement were give an impact to air quality levels in Konya City. The increase in O3 values were found by the existing of the sun rays in the atmosphere with the formation of O3 during the clean air period.