Impact of COVID-19 Induced Lockdown on Environmental Quality in Four Indian Megacities Using Landsat 8 OLI and TIRS-Derived Data and Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Modelling Approach

Abstract

<jats:p>The deadly COVID-19 virus has caused a global pandemic health emergency. This COVID-19 has spread its arms to 200 countries globally and the megacities of the world were particularly affected with a large number of infections and deaths, which is still increasing day by day. On the other hand, the outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly impacted the global environment to regain its health. This study takes four megacities (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai) of India for a comprehensive assessment of the dynamicity of environmental quality resulting from the COVID-19 induced lockdown situation. An environmental quality index was formulated using remotely sensed biophysical parameters like Particulate Matters PM10 concentration, Land Surface Temperature (LST), Normalized Different Moisture Index (NDMI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). Fuzzy-AHP, which is a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making process, has been utilized to derive the weight of the indicators and aggregation. The results showing that COVID-19 induced lockdown in the form of restrictions on human and vehicular movements and decreasing economic activities has improved the overall quality of the environment in the selected Indian cities for a short time span. Overall, the results indicate that lockdown is not only capable of controlling COVID-19 spread, but also helpful in minimizing environmental degradation. The findings of this study can be utilized for assessing and analyzing the impacts of COVID-19 induced lockdown situation on the overall environmental quality of other megacities of the world.</jats:p>

Investigating the Significance of Aerosols in Determining the Coronavirus Fatality Rate Among Three European Countries

“…During this period, NO 2 had a consistent decline across countries but AOD was impacted differently in different countries. China experienced an increase in AOD during the lockdown period while India recorded a decrease (Ghosh et al 2020 ; Nichol et al 2020 ; Ranjan et al 2020 ). In view of this, NO 2 and AOD data from Mar 1, 2020 to Jul 1, 2020 were also included in our analysis.…”

Investigating the Effect of Lockdown During COVID-19 on Land Surface Temperature: Study of Dehradun City, India

“…Mandal and Pal (2020) reported a reduction in LST values of 3-5°C due to reduced anthropogenic activities in Dwarka river basin within Jharkhand and West Bengal. Ghosh et al (2020) also stated a decreasing trend of LST values in their study of four Indian metro cities.…”

Impact of Lockdown amid COVID-19 Pandemic on Temperature and Rainfall in Sub-Himalayan Ranges of Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory, India

“…Again, a comparison between year 2019, pre-lockdown and lockdown values of land surface temperature has highlighted the reduction in values amid lockdown in major cities of India i.e. Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata and Chennai Ghosh et al [16]. However, the consistent drop in temperature amid lockdown due to COVID 19 pandemic can be temporary Monserrate et al [17] but the lockdown has proven to be an effective alternative to tackle the system of emissions and understanding the regional climate signatures.…”