Changes in air quality during COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ in the United Kingdom

Jephcote, Calvin; Hansell, Anna; Adams, Kathryn; Gulliver, John

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116011

Cited by 127 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In the UK, similar to the current study, several researchers have reported that the levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 have increased [29,30]. In contrast, others have reported that reduction in the levels of PM is much subtler compared to NO 2 [28]. Why PM levels have increased or not decreased as much as expected, is a question not yet answered satisfactorily.…”

Section: Relationship Between Air Pollutant Concentrations and Mobilitysupporting

confidence: 69%

“…However, the changes in air pollutant concentrations vary among different studies depending on the meteorological conditions, the approach used for calculating the reduction, geographical settings, and the level of reduction in emissions due to the varying lockdown measures implemented. In the UK, the lockdown started on 24 March 2020 with restrictions on movement, closure of non-essential businesses and implementing rules for public gathering [28]. The lockdown caused a significant pause in socio-economic activities and consequently impacted air quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to other countries, the results of the studies in the UK have shown variations in the impacts of lockdown on air quality, especially on particulate matter (PM). For instance, Jephcote et al [28] reported that the PM levels, during and after the lockdown, did not change significantly in Scotland, which they attributed to local meteorological differences between the AQMS in Scotland and other parts of the UK. Similarly, Ropkins and Tate [30] asserted that the changes in the values of PM across the UK cannot be directly attributed to the lockdown as the values moderately increased during the lockdown period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in Air Quality Associated with Mobility Trends and Meteorological Conditions during COVID-19 Lockdown in Northern England, UK

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic triggered catastrophic impacts on human life, but at the same time demonstrated positive impacts on air quality. In this study, the impact of COVID-19 lockdown interventions on five major air pollutants during the pre-lockdown, lockdown, and post-lockdown periods is analysed in three urban areas in Northern England: Leeds, Sheffield, and Manchester. A Generalised Additive Model (GAM) was implemented to eliminate the effects of meteorological factors from air quality to understand the variations in air pollutant levels exclusively caused by reductions in emissions. Comparison of lockdown with pre-lockdown period exhibited noticeable reductions in concentrations of NO (56.68–74.16%), NO2 (18.06–47.15%), and NOx (35.81–56.52%) for measured data. However, PM10 and PM2.5 levels demonstrated positive gain during lockdown ranging from 21.96–62.00% and 36.24–80.31%, respectively. Comparison of lockdown period with the equivalent period in 2019 also showed reductions in air pollutant concentrations, ranging 43.31–69.75% for NO, 41.52–62.99% for NOx, 37.13–55.54% for NO2, 2.36–19.02% for PM10, and 29.93–40.26% for PM2.5. Back trajectory analysis was performed to show the air mass origin during the pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Further, the analysis showed a positive association of mobility data with gaseous pollutants and a negative correlation with particulate matter.

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Section: Relationship Between Air Pollutant Concentrations and Mobilitysupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in Air Quality Associated with Mobility Trends and Meteorological Conditions during COVID-19 Lockdown in Northern England, UK

et al. 2021

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“…14 days' self-isolation was advised for people returning from places with high infection rates, people with similar symptoms, or household contacts [54]. The national lockdown started on the 23rd of March, with included restrictions: (1) people had to stay at home, except for limited purposes; (2) closing of all non-essential businesses, including retail and hospitality sectors; (3) closing public venues; (4) stopping all gatherings with more than two people in public; (5) closing daycares and primary education institu-tions [55]. The Coronavirus Act 2020 was published on 25 March 2020, which contained emergency powers to respond to the pandemic.…”

Section: Review Of Country-based Covid-19 Lockdown Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The beginning and the end of the lockdown for respective countries were presented on the time axes with solid lines of different colors, corresponding to the colors of country names. The numeric values on the time axis represent the beginning and end dates of lockdowns in the individual countries (prepared by authors[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62]).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 and Air Pollution: Measuring Pandemic Impact to Air Quality in Five European Countries

Skirienė

Stasiškienė

2021

Atmosphere

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The rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected the economy, trade, transport, health care, social services, and other sectors. To control the rapid dispersion of the virus, most countries imposed national lockdowns and social distancing policies. This led to reduced industrial, commercial, and human activities, followed by lower air pollution emissions, which caused air quality improvement. Air pollution monitoring data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) datasets were used to investigate how lockdown policies affected air quality changes in the period before and during the COVID-19 lockdown, comparing to the same periods in 2018 and 2019, along with an assessment of the Index of Production variation impact to air pollution changes during the pandemic in 2020. Analysis results show that industrial and mobility activities were lower in the period of the lockdown along with the reduced selected pollutant NO2, PM2.5, PM10 emissions by approximately 20–40% in 2020.

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Impact of COVID‐19 on the Renewable Energy Sector and Mitigation Strategies

et al. 2022

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This review explores the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the renewable energy (RE) sector, especially in countries with the highest RE capacities, e.g., the USA, China, India, and the EU. It highlights stimulus packages put in place by governments worldwide and their sustainability to cushion the RE sector. Commissioning of RE projects has stalled due to lack of funding allocation and interruptions in the supply of equipment and components due to lockdown measures. Despite the need to fund COVID‐19 vaccination programs and other related health services, the world must not neglect other sectors of the economy, creating more problems, such as worsening the climate change situation in the long run. This review aims to present the information needed to sustain future energy during the COVID‐19 global pandemic.

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Changes in air quality during COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ in the United Kingdom

Cited by 127 publications

References 17 publications

Changes in Air Quality Associated with Mobility Trends and Meteorological Conditions during COVID-19 Lockdown in Northern England, UK

Changes in Air Quality Associated with Mobility Trends and Meteorological Conditions during COVID-19 Lockdown in Northern England, UK

COVID-19 and Air Pollution: Measuring Pandemic Impact to Air Quality in Five European Countries

Impact of COVID‐19 on the Renewable Energy Sector and Mitigation Strategies

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