| Title: | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and control measures on air quality and aerosol light absorption in Southwestern China |
| Author(s): | Chen Y; Zhang S; Peng C; Shi G; Tian M; Huang RJ; Guo D; Wang H; Yao X; Yang F; |
| Address: | "Center for the Atmospheric Environment Research, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China. Electronic address: chenyang@cigit.ac.cn. School of Basic Medical Sciences, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan, China. Center for the Atmospheric Environment Research, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China. College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China. School of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. Electronic address: tianmi628@cqu.edu.cn. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG), and Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics (KLACP), Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China. School of Environment and Resource, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141419 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-1026 (Electronic) 0048-9697 (Print) 0048-9697 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "China has been performing nationwide social lockdown by releasing the Level 1 response to major public health emergencies (RMPHE) to struggle against the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak since late January 2020. During the Level 1 RMPHE, social production and public transport were maintained at minimal levels, and residents stayed in and worked from home. The universal impact of anthropogenic activities on air pollution can be evaluated by comparing it with air quality under such extreme conditions. We investigated the concentration of both gaseous and particulate pollutants and aerosol light absorption at different levels of (RMPHE) in an urban area of southwestern China. During the lockdown, PM(2.5), PM(10), SO(2), NO(x), and BC decreased by 30-50%, compared to the pre-Level 1 RMPHE period. Meanwhile, the decrease of NO(x) caused the rise of O(3) by up to 2.3 times due to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) limitation. The aerosol light absorption coefficient at multiple wavelengths decreased by 50%, and AAE decreased by 20% during the Level 1 RMPHE. BrC played essential roles in light absorption after the RMPHE was announced, accounting for 54.0% of the aerosol absorption coefficient at 370 nm. Moreover, the lockdown down-weighted the fraction of fossil fuel in BC concentrations to 0.43 (minima). This study characterizes air pollution at the most basic level and can provide policymakers with references for the 'baseline.'" |
| Keywords: | Aerosols *Air Pollutants/analysis *Air Pollution/analysis *covid-19 China Communicable Disease Control Environmental Monitoring Humans Pandemics Particulate Matter/analysis SARS-CoV-2 Air quality Black carbon Covid-19 Lockdown Southern China; |
| Notes: | "MedlineChen, Yang Zhang, Shumin Peng, Chao Shi, Guangming Tian, Mi Huang, Ru-Jin Guo, Dongmei Wang, Huanbo Yao, Xiaojiang Yang, Fumo eng Netherlands 2020/08/22 Sci Total Environ. 2020 Dec 20; 749:141419. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141419. Epub 2020 Aug 4" |
