How changes in human activities during the lockdown impacted air quality parameters: A review

Abstract

The health emergency linked to the spread of COVID-19 has led to important reduction in industrial and logistics activities, as well as to a drastic changes in citizens' behaviours and habits. The restrictions on working activities, journeys and relationships imposed by the lockdown have had important consequences, including for environmental quality. This review aims to provide a structured and critical evaluation of the recent scientific bibliography that analysed and described the impact of lockdown on human activities and on air quality. The results indicate an important effect of the lockdown during the first few months of 2020 on air pollution levels, compared to previous periods. The concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide have decreased. Tropospheric ozone, on the other hand, has significantly increased. These results are important indicators that can become decision drivers for future policies and strategies in industrial and logistics activities (including the mobility sector) aimed at their environmental sustainability. The scenario imposed by COVID-19 has supported the understanding of the link between the reduction of polluting emissions and the state of air quality and will be able to support strategic choices for the future sustainable growth of the industrial and logistics sector.This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

The Burden of Disease Due to Road Traffic Noise in Hesse, Germany

“…Moreover, we used the most recent road noise data available for Germany, but changes in road-traffic patterns over time are possible. With regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in road traffic leading to changes in air pollution has been observed by some studies [62]. For example, a decrease in road-traffic volume by 37% and road occupancy by 52% has been shown during the Stay Home Order (SHO) in Washington state [63].…”

Air Pollution Observations in Selected Locations in Poland during the Lockdown Related to COVID-19

“…The change by people of their daily behavior and patterns to contain or avoid the virus has not only affected the economy but has also extended to other aspects such as the environment [35][36][37]. During the lockdowns, there was less traffic on the communication routes.…”

Quantifying Air Pollutant Variations during COVID-19 Lockdown in a Capital City in Northwest China

“…The lockdown brought about drastic impacts at social and economic fronts [28][29][30][31] as well as impacts on the environment, particularly in the context of air quality, environmental, and noise reduction [32][33][34]. To date, previous data and studies have shown that the emergency measures taken by the government to prevent human activities in the lockdown period of COVID-19 had effectively and significantly reduced ambient air pollution [20,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. However, no comprehensive investigation has been conducted on the impact of COVID-19 control measures on gaseous and particulate air pollutants in Xi'an.…”