Substantial reductions in human and economic activities such as road traffic for several months in 2020 were one of the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic. This unprecedented change in urban metabolism also affected temperature and air pollutants. This study investigates the effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown across 43 cities in Europe. It determines the influence of anthropogenic activities on nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as on land surface temperature (LST) and the surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) using satellite, modeled, and mobility data. Our findings show that there are great temporal and spatial differences and distinct patterns between the cities regarding the magnitude of change in the variables under study. In general, the results indicate a substantial decrease in NO2 concentrations in most of the studied cities compared with the reference period of 2015–2019. However, reductions could not be attributed to mobility changes such as less traffic at transit stations, contrary to the results of previous studies. O3 levels increased during the first lockdown in accordance with the decreasing NO2 concentrations. The PM pattern was inconsistent over time and space. Similar to the NO2 results, no relation to the altered mobility behavior was found. No clear signal could be detected for LST and the SUHII, likely due to dominating meteorological influences.
Substantial reductions of the human and economic activities like road traffic for several months in 2020 were one of the consequences of the Coronavirus disease. This unprecedented change in urban metabolism also affected temperature and air pollutants. This study investigates the effects of the first COVID-19 lockdown over 43 cities in Europe. It determines the influence of anthropogenic activities on nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and particulate matter (PM2.5) as well as on land surface temperature (LST), and the surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII), using satellite, modelled, and mobility data. Our findings show that there are great temporal and spatial differences and distinct patterns between the cities regarding the magnitude of change of the variables under study. In general, the results indicate a significant decrease in NO2 concentrations in most of the studied cities compared to the reference period 2015-2019. However, reductions could not be attributed to mobility changes like less traffic at transit stations, contrary to the results of previous studies. O3 levels increased during the first lockdown mainly influenced by the decreasing NO2 concentrations. The PM pattern was inconsistent over time and space. Similar as the NO2 results, no relation to the altered mobility behavior was found. No clear signal could be detected for LST and the SUHII, likely due to dominating meteorological influences. Therefore, single city case studies may be misleading.
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