Impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on air pollution in 20 major cities around the world

Fu, Franck; Purvis-Roberts, Kathleen L.; Williams, B.

doi:10.1002/essoar.10504175.1

Cited by 43 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…We hypothesize that an alternative explanation for this drop in stroke admissions may be related to an actual decrease in the incidence of stroke during the lockdown period. This reduction may be resulting from an improvement in air quality resulting from the lockdowns in various major cities 16 , 17 . During the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent study obtained PM2.5 levels before and during the lockdown from the four major cities of Pakistan and reported a mean PM2.5 reduction of 38.03%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Relationship Between Air Quality and Ischemic Stroke Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hameed

Khan

Fatmi

et al. 2021

Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases

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Background and purpose Amongst all the global catastrophe due to Coronavirus disease 2019, a significant bright spot is a reduction in air pollution as countries undergo lockdowns to limit the spread of infection. Another reduction that has been reported is in the number of strokes presenting to hospitals, despite the virus implicated in causing a hypercoagulable state. Acute exposure to air pollution has been linked to increase in stroke incidence and the improvement in air quality may be responsible for the decrease in stroke presentations. Methods To explore this hypothesis, we compared the air quality index (AQI) of Karachi, the largest cosmopolitan city of Pakistan, during the lockdown period in 2020 to the same period in the previous year. Results We found a significant drop in AQI depicting an improvement in air quality. Simultaneously, we identified a drop in number of stroke admissions to less than half from 2019 to 2020 at one of the largest tertiary care hospitals of the city, during this period of interest. Conclusion: We hypothesize that one important reason for this drop in stroke admissions, may be an actual reduction in stroke incidence brought about by an improvement in air quality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Relationship Between Air Quality and Ischemic Stroke Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hameed

Khan

Fatmi

et al. 2021

Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases

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“…Chauhan and Singh [15] analyzed several cities around the world, including Shanghai, which found a marked reduction in air pollution attributed to the reduction of emissions in transport and industries. Fu et al [81] analyzed several international cities, highlighting the significant drop in pollutant concentrations.…”

Section: The Most Analyzed Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Baldasano [83] investigated the trend of NO2 in Barcelona and Madrid, highlighting how the drastic reduction in road traffic favored the reductions of NO2 concentrations of 62% and 50%, respectively. Tobias et al and Fu et al [81,84] contributed to the study of these two Spanish cities. New data on Barcelona have been integrated, highlighting a reduction of about 30% of PM10.…”

Section: The Most Analyzed Citiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How changes in human activities during the lockdown impacted air quality parameters: A review

Marinello

Butturi

Gamberini

2021

Env Prog and Sustain Energy

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The health emergency linked to the spread of COVID-19 has led to important reduction in industrial and logistics activities, as well as to a drastic changes in citizens' behaviours and habits. The restrictions on working activities, journeys and relationships imposed by the lockdown have had important consequences, including for environmental quality. This review aims to provide a structured and critical evaluation of the recent scientific bibliography that analysed and described the impact of lockdown on human activities and on air quality. The results indicate an important effect of the lockdown during the first few months of 2020 on air pollution levels, compared to previous periods. The concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide have decreased. Tropospheric ozone, on the other hand, has significantly increased. These results are important indicators that can become decision drivers for future policies and strategies in industrial and logistics activities (including the mobility sector) aimed at their environmental sustainability. The scenario imposed by COVID-19 has supported the understanding of the link between the reduction of polluting emissions and the state of air quality and will be able to support strategic choices for the future sustainable growth of the industrial and logistics sector.This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

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“…Noticeably, all these measures taken to control the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 had an outstanding impact on the environment via reducing the emission of toxic greenhouse (and other) gas emissions [ 62 ]. The level of air pollution in New York almost dropped by 50% compared to the normal routine before lockdown [ 63 ]. Similarly, the data in China showed a 25% decrease in emissions during the coronavirus lockdown [ 64 ].…”

Section: Environmental Changes Linked To Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Environmental Aspects of COVID-19 Pandemic and Potential Control Strategies

Nazir

Ali

Rasul

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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A new coronavirus-strain from a zoonotic reservoir (probably bat)—termed as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)—has recently claimed more than two million deaths worldwide. Consequently, a burst of scientific reports on epidemiology, symptoms, and diagnosis came out. However, a comprehensive understanding of eco-environmental aspects that may contribute to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread is still missing, and we therefore aim to focus here on these aspects. In addition to human–human direct SARS-CoV-2 transmission, eco-environmental sources, such as air aerosols, different public use objects, hospital wastes, livestock/pet animals, municipal wastes, ventilation facilities, soil and groundwater potentially contribute to SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Further, high temperature and humidity were found to limit the spread of COVID-19. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to decrease air and noise pollution during the period of lockdown, increased use of masks and gloves is threatening the environment by water and soil pollutions. COVID-19 badly impacted all the socio-economic groups in different capacities, where women, slum dwellers, and the people lacking social protections are the most vulnerable. Finally, sustainable strategies, waste management, biodiversity reclaim, eco-friendly lifestyle, improved health infrastructure and public awareness, were proposed to minimize the COVID-19 impact on our society and environment. These strategies will seemingly be equally effective against any future outbreak.

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Impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on air pollution in 20 major cities around the world

Cited by 43 publications

References 8 publications

Exploring the Relationship Between Air Quality and Ischemic Stroke Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Exploring the Relationship Between Air Quality and Ischemic Stroke Admissions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

How changes in human activities during the lockdown impacted air quality parameters: A review

Eco-Environmental Aspects of COVID-19 Pandemic and Potential Control Strategies

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