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Assessing the spatio-temporal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on air quality in Jiangsu province, China

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Abstract

The Chinese government has implemented severe restrictions and lockdown (LD) measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This kind of environment offers a terrific opportunity to work in this area. The current study sought to evaluate the COVID-19 lockdown’s spatiotemporal impact on Jiangsu Province, China’s air quality. We examined the data gathered from 72 monitoring stations for each of the six air pollutant factors: PM10, SO2, PM2.5, CO, NO2, and O3 from 2017 to 2021. Our findings indicate that air pollution concentrations abruptly decreased as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. During the active-LD period, SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 and CO concentrations declined by − 17.85%, − 38.07%, − 29.52%, − 30.33%, and − 19.05%, respectively, while O3 concentrations significantly increased by 58.62%, because of a combination of decreased emissions of NOx and VOCs, and variations in the weather. In contrast to the historical data (2017–19), O3 levels increased by 3.53%, while SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and CO reductions were − 50.11%, − 34.95%, − 36.51%, − 33.16%, and − 23.60%, respectively. Among the selected pollutants, PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and CO all exhibited increasing tendencies, while SO2 and O3 concentration levels reduced in 2021. According to the correlation analysis, Jiangsu’s active-LD phase observed a considerable relationship between SO2, PM2.5, NO2, PM10, and CO. The findings suggest that the COVID-19 lockdown measures had a significant influence on both raising and declining air pollution levels. These findings illuminate a new light and are helpful for the scientific community and local authorities to create strategies to protect the environment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the China Environmental Monitoring Station—CNEMC for providing the data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Electrical Engineering College, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, 571126, China

    Huimin Han

  2. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Ahmad Hasnain

  3. School of Information and Communication Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou, China

    Uzair Aslam Bhatti

  4. **njiang Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, College of Geography and Remote Sensing Science, **njiang University, Urumchi, China

    Yin Yue

  5. Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China

    Yufeng He

  6. School of Surveying and Geoinformation Engineering, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Geng Wei

  7. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nan**g Normal University, Nan**g, 210023, China

    Waseem ur Rahman

  8. School of Geography, Nan**g Normal University, Nan**g, 210023, China

    Zaeem Hassan Akhter

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  1. Huimin Han
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Han, H., Hasnain, A., Bhatti, U.A. et al. Assessing the spatio-temporal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on air quality in Jiangsu province, China. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04914-w

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