The declaration of COVID-19 pandemic by the WHO initiated a series of lockdowns globally that varied in stringency and duration; however, the spatiotemporal effects of these lockdowns on air quality remain understudied. This study evaluates the global impact of lockdowns on air pollutants using tropospheric and ground-level indicators over a five-month period. Moreover, the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 cases and mortalities was examined. Changes in the global tropospheric (NO
2
, aerosols, and O
3
) and ground-level (PM
2.5
, PM
10
, NO
2
, and O
3
) pollutants were observed, and the maximum air quality improvement was observed immediately after lockdown. Except for a few countries, a decline in air pollutants correlated with a reduction in Land Surface Temperature (LST). Notably, regions with higher tropospheric NO
2
and aerosol concentrations were also COVID-19 hotspots. Our analysis showed moderate positive correlation for NO
2
with COVID-19 cases (R
2
= 0.33; r = 0.57,
P
= 0.006) and mortalities (R
2
= 0.40; r = 0.63,
P
= 0.015), while O
3
showed a weak-moderate positive correlation with COVID-19 cases (R
2
= 0.22; r = 0.47,
P
= 0.003) and mortalities (R
2
= 0.12; r = 0.35,
P
= 0.012). However, PM
2.5
, and PM
10
showed no significant correlation with either COVID-19 cases or mortality. This study reveals that humans living under adverse air pollution conditions are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality.