Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Atmospheric Environment over China: A Satellite Perspective

ABSTRACT

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has lasted for more than two years, has had a huge impact on human health and the global economy, as well as the ecological environment. In this study, the variations of atmospheric environment over China from 2019 to 2020 were calculated and analyzed based on the measured total columns of ozone (O-3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA's Aura satellite. The study shows the impact of the epidemic prevention and control measures and the resumption of work and production on atmospheric environment, and demonstrates that satellite remote sensing can play an important role in the monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially its impact on atmospheric environment.