Abrupt but smaller than expected changes in surface air quality attributable to COVID-19 lockdowns
Zongbo Shi, Congbo Song, Bowen Liu, Gongda Lu, Jingsha Xu, Tuan V. Vu, Robert Elliott, Weijun Li, William J. Bloss, Roy M. Harrison
Abstract
concentrations decreased in most cities studied but increased in London and Paris. Our results demonstrate the need for a sophisticated analysis to quantify air quality impacts of interventions and indicate that true air quality improvements were notably more limited than some earlier reports or observational data suggested.
Topics & Concepts
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Air quality indexEnvironmental scienceQuality (philosophy)VirologyMedicineMeteorologyGeographyPhysicsInfectious disease (medical specialty)OutbreakInternal medicineDiseaseQuantum mechanicsAir Quality and Health ImpactsCOVID-19 impact on air qualityAir Quality Monitoring and Forecasting