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This paper investigates the impact of air quality and climate variability during the first wave of COVID-19 associated with accelerated transmission and lethality in Wuhan in China and four European metropolises (Milan, Madrid, London, and Bucharest). For the period 1 January–15 June 2020, including the COVID-19 pre-lockdown, lockdown, and beyond periods, this study used a synergy of in situ and derived satellite time-series data analyses, investigating the daily average inhalable gaseous pollutants ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter in two size fractions (PM2.5 and PM10) together with the Air Quality Index (AQI), total Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 550 nm, and climate variables (air temperature at 2 m height, relative humidity, wind speed, and Planetary Boundary Layer height). Applied statistical methods and cross-correlation tests involving multiple datasets of the main air pollutants (inhalable PM2.5 and PM10 and NO2), AQI, and aerosol loading AOD revealed a direct positive correlation with the spread and severity of COVID-19. Like in other cities worldwide, during the first-wave COVID-19 lockdown, due to the implemented restrictions on human-related emissions, there was a significant decrease in most air pollutant concentrations (PM2.5, PM10, and NO2), AQI, and AOD but a high increase in ground-level O3 in all selected metropolises. Also, this study found negative correlations of daily new COVID-19 cases (DNCs) with surface ozone level, air temperature at 2 m height, Planetary Boundary PBL heights, and wind speed intensity and positive correlations with relative humidity. The findings highlight the differential impacts of pandemic lockdowns on air quality in the investigated metropolises.
This paper investigates the impact of air quality and climate variability during the first wave of COVID-19 associated with accelerated transmission and lethality in Wuhan in China and four European metropolises (Milan, Madrid, London, and Bucharest). For the period 1 January–15 June 2020, including the COVID-19 pre-lockdown, lockdown, and beyond periods, this study used a synergy of in situ and derived satellite time-series data analyses, investigating the daily average inhalable gaseous pollutants ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulate matter in two size fractions (PM2.5 and PM10) together with the Air Quality Index (AQI), total Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 550 nm, and climate variables (air temperature at 2 m height, relative humidity, wind speed, and Planetary Boundary Layer height). Applied statistical methods and cross-correlation tests involving multiple datasets of the main air pollutants (inhalable PM2.5 and PM10 and NO2), AQI, and aerosol loading AOD revealed a direct positive correlation with the spread and severity of COVID-19. Like in other cities worldwide, during the first-wave COVID-19 lockdown, due to the implemented restrictions on human-related emissions, there was a significant decrease in most air pollutant concentrations (PM2.5, PM10, and NO2), AQI, and AOD but a high increase in ground-level O3 in all selected metropolises. Also, this study found negative correlations of daily new COVID-19 cases (DNCs) with surface ozone level, air temperature at 2 m height, Planetary Boundary PBL heights, and wind speed intensity and positive correlations with relative humidity. The findings highlight the differential impacts of pandemic lockdowns on air quality in the investigated metropolises.
Atmospheric particulate pollution in China’s megacities has heightened public concern over air quality, highlighting the need for precise identification of urban pollution characteristics and pollutant transport mechanisms to enable effective control and mitigation. In this study, a new method combing the High Accuracy Surface Modeling (HASM) and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) was proposed to derive seasonal high spatial resolution PM2.5 concentrations. The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) was applied to analyze the seasonal spatial variations, transport pathways, and potential sources of PM2.5 concentrations across China’s four megacities: Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Chengdu. The result indicates that: (1) the proposed method outperformed Kriging, inverse distance weighting (IDW), and HASM, with coefficient of determination values ranging from 0.91 to 0.94, and root mean square error values ranging from 1.98 to 2.43 µg/m3, respectively; (2) all cities show a similar seasonal pattern, with PM2.5 concentrations highest in winter, followed by spring, autumn, and summer; Beijing has higher concentrations in the south, Shanghai and Xi’an in the west, and Chengdu in central urban areas, decreasing toward the rural area; (3) potential source contribution function and concentration weighted trajectory analysis indicate that Beijing’s main potential PM2.5 sources are in Hebei Province (during winter, spring, and autumn), Shanghai’s are in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, Xi’an’s are in Southern Shaanxi Province, and Chengdu’s are in Northeastern and Southern Sichuan Province, with all cities experiencing higher impacts in winter; (4) there is a negative correlation between precipitation, air temperature, and seasonal PM2.5 levels, with anthropogenic emissions sources such as industry combustion, power plants, residential combustion, and transportation significantly impact on seasonal PM2.5 pollution.
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