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The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement Measures on the Air Quality in an Urban-Industrial Area of Portugal
| Content Provider | MDPI |
|---|---|
| Author | Gamelas, Carla Abecasis, Leonor Canha, Nuno Almeida, Susana Marta |
| Copyright Year | 2021 |
| Description | This study evaluated the temporal variability of the concentrations of pollutants (namely, $NO_{2}$, $O_{3}$, $PM_{2.5}$, $PM_{10}$ and $SO_{2}$) in an urban-industrial area of mainland Portugal during two decades (from 2001 to 2020), to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the levels of these atmospheric pollutants. Mean levels of pollutants in 2020 were compared with those measured in the six previous years (2014–2019). A significant improvement in air quality, namely regarding $PM_{10}$ and $NO_{2}$, was found and it can be attributable to the restrictions of anthropogenic activities (such as traffic) promoted during the March–May 2020 national lockdown that occurred due to the pandemic. Significant and expressive reductions of 44.0% and 40.3% were found in April 2020 for $NO_{2}$ and $PM_{10}$, respectively, showing the impact of local traffic in the study area. A similar trend of reduction for these pollutants was also found in the following months. However, ozone levels did not show the same trend, with significant increases in several months after the lockdown period, highlighting other contributions to this pollutant. This unique period can be considered as a living lab, where the implementation of strict measures due to COVID-19 confinement promoted the reduction of anthropogenic activities and allowed us to understand more comprehensively their impact on local air quality. |
| Starting Page | 1097 |
| e-ISSN | 20734433 |
| DOI | 10.3390/atmos12091097 |
| Journal | Atmosphere |
| Issue Number | 9 |
| Volume Number | 12 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Publisher Date | 2021-08-25 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Atmosphere Environmental Engineering Air Quality Urban-industrial Covid-19 Confinement Pm10 Ozone Nitrogen Dioxide Sulphur Dioxide Temporal Analysis |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
