Human Health Risks and Air Quality Changes Following Restrictions for the Control of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first impacted Thailand in early 2020. The government imposed lockdown measures from April to May 2020 to control the spread of infection. Daily lifestyles then morphed into a so-called new normal in which activities were conducted at home and people avoided congregation in order to prevent the spread of an infectious disease. This study evaluated the long-term air quality improvement which resulted from the restrictions enforced on normal human activities in Thailand. The air quality index (AQI) of six criteria pollutants and health risk assessments were evaluated in four areas, including metropolitan, suburban, industrial, and tourism areas in Thailand. The results showed that, after the restriction measures, the overall AQI improved by 30%. The subindex of each pollutant (sub-AQI) of most pollutants significantly improved (by 30%) in metropolitan areas after human activities changed due to the implementation of lockdown measures. With regard to industrial and tourism areas, only the sub-AQI of traffic-related pollutants decreased (34%) while the sub-AQIs of other pollutants before and after lockdown were similar. However, the changes in human activities were not clearly related to air quality improvement in the suburban area. The overall hazard index (HI) after lockdown decreased by 23% because of the reduction of traffic-related pollutants. However, the HI value remained above the recommended limits for the health of the adult residents in all areas. Therefore, strict regulations to control other pollutant sources, such as industry and open burning, will also be necessary for air quality improvement in Thailand.

How does COVID-19 lockdown affect air quality: Evidence from Lanzhou, a large city in Northwest China

“… Mahato et al (2020) , Sharma et al (2020) , and Naqvi et al (2021) have observed that the lockdown improved the air quality in India by 31–54%, 15–44%, and 17.75–20.70%, respectively. Compared to non-lockdown periods, the national or city-scale air quality improvement for Thailand ( Kaewrat et al, 2022 ), Korea ( Seo et al, 2020 ), and Iran ( Yazdani et al, 2021 ) was approximately 30%, 44.8–48.7%, and 8%, respectively. In China, national-level studies have revealed that the air quality index (AQI) reduced by approximately 5 (367 cities; Ming et al, 2020 ), 20.56 (326 cities; Song et al, 2021 ), and 19.84 points (1605 air quality monitoring stations covering all of the prefectural cities; He et al, 2020) during epidemic prevention and control periods.…”

Analyze Strategies for Diversifying the Country's Economy Driven by Tourism Using Pattaya, Chonburi, Thailand as a Case Study. To Reduce Fragility and Increase Economic Stability

“…According to a research by (Kaewrat et al, 2022;Leelawat et al, 2022), operating enterprises in the Pathaya tourism sector was a significant difficulty since owners had to negotiate a challenging and ever-changing environment. Many operating challenges, such as high expenses, fierce rivalry, and erratic demand, plagued the proprietors.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has had a big effect on the tourism business in Thailand. The decline in international tourism, the bad news in the media, and the change in consumer behaviour have all led to a big drop in the industry's revenue and profits (Kaewrat et al, 2022;Leelawat et al, 2022). As the pandemic continues to evolve, it is essential for the hospitality industry in Thailand to adapt and find ways to mitigate the impact of the pandemic (Hyder et al, 2023).…”

“…The pandemic has resulted in widespread cancellations of trips, reduced air traffic, and decreased spending on tourism (Niemtu et al, 2022). As a result, the tourism industry has suffered significant losses, with many businesses closing, and millions of jobs being lost (Kaewrat et al, 2022). The decline in international tourism has been particularly severe, with a significant reduction in the number of international tourists travelling to destinations around the world.…”

Predicting of Daily PM2.5 Concentration Employing Wavelet Artificial Neural Networks Based on Meteorological Elements in Shanghai, China

“…On 30 January 2020, the WHO Emergency Committee designated COVID-19 as a global health emergency; as of 12 August 2022, COVID-19 had caused at least 585,950,085 confirmed cases and 6,425,422 deaths globally (WHO). The COVID-19 epidemic has had an unprecedented influence on global air pollution [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. The abrupt COVID-19 pandemic offers a chance to research the impact of urban blockade policies on the change of air pollutants, and to describe the normal modes of air pollution under the disappearance of the epidemic [ 24 ].…”