COVID-19 lockdowns reveal pronounced disparities in nitrogen dioxide pollution levels

Abstract

The unequal spatial distribution of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an air pollutant related to traffic, leads to higher exposure for minority and low socioeconomic status communities. We exploit the unprecedented drop in urban activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and use high-resolution, remotely-sensed NO2 observations to investigate disparities in NO2 levels across different demographic subgroups in the United States. We show that COVID-19 lockdowns reduced, but did not eliminate, the overall racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic NO2 disparities. Prior to the pandemic, satellite-observed NO2 levels in the least white census tracts of the United States were double NO2 levels in the most white tracts. During the pandemic, the largest lockdown-related NO2 reductions occurred in urban neighborhoods that have 30% fewer white residents and 111% more Hispanic residents than neighborhoods with the smallest reductions, likely driven by the greater density of highways and interstates in these racially and ethnically diverse areas. However, the least white tracts still experienced 50% higher NO2 levels during the lockdowns than the most white tracts experienced prior to the pandemic. Future policies aimed at eliminating pollution disparities will need to look beyond reducing emissions from only passenger traffic and also consider other collocated sources of emissions such as heavy-duty trucks, power plants, and industrial facilities.

Shaping the Future of Science: COVID‐19 Highlighting the Importance of GeoHealth

“…In addition, inconsistent changes in pollutants shed light on potential mitigation strategies aimed at reducing pollution and reveal persistent disparities in air pollution, exposure, and health outcomes. Some studies have found that changes in air quality were not only unequal spatially, but also varied among racial distribution and household income within cities, highlighting that pollution disparities persisted even despite the large‐scale decreases in traffic emissions (Kerr, Goldberg, et al., 2021). Lessons learned from this natural experiment can lead to more equitable environmental policies beneficial to human health, which is a primary focus for GeoHealth research.…”

“…Apart from changes in human behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic having an effect on the Earth system, the Earth system may also affect the pandemic. One of the largest areas of uncertainty in this regard is whether climate conditions will foster a seasonality in the transmission of COVID‐19, similar to influenza (Carlson et al., 2020; Kerr, Badr, et al., 2021; Kissler et al., 2020). Several talks at AGU20 explored the effects of environmental variables like temperature, humidity, aerosol settling time, and UV radiation on COVID‐19 dynamics.…”

“…Having a diverse scientific team increases productivity and innovation (Hong & Page, 2004) and may help address issues of environmental justice by dismantling barriers for people from diverse backgrounds to engage in science (Garibay, 2013; Jimenez et al., 2019). Throughout the GeoHealth sessions at AGU20 on COVID‐19, it was evident that the pandemic is disproportionately affecting marginalized communities; air pollution is still higher among these communities despite overall reduced emissions (Kerr, Goldberg, et al., 2021), healthcare resources are scarcer, and the negative health outcomes are greater (Tai et al., 2020). Issues of environmental justice must remain a priority area of research for the GeoHealth community to shape the future of science into one with health equity.…”