Impact of COVID-19-Related Traffic Slowdown on Urban Heat Characteristics

Teufel, Bernardo; Sushama, Laxmi; Poitras, Vincent; Dukhan, Tarek; Bélair, Stéphane; Miranda-Moreno, Luis F.; Sun, Lijun; Sasmito, Agus P.; Bitsuamlak, Girma

doi:10.3390/atmos12020243

Cited by 30 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Other studies have found lower anthropogenic heat flux during the lockdown, which resulted in less LST change (–4°C) ( Pal et al, 2021 ). In Montreal, Canada, a decrease in the near-surface temperature was found to be about –1°C, associated with about 80% reduction in traffic ( Teufel et al, 2021 ). Two climate models were applied to study the impacts of the lockdown and related emission changes (mainly BC and sulphate) on LST over USA, revealing a positive aerosol effect on LST by 0.1°C to 0.3°C; however, this effect was negligible for the global temperature (+ 0.03°C) ( Gettelman et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown on land surface temperature, aerosol, and urban heat in Europe and North America

Parida

Bar

Kaskaoutis

et al. 2021

Sustainable Cities and Society

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The outbreak of SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) has posed a serious threat to human beings, society, and economic activities all over the world. Worldwide rigorous containment measures for limiting the spread of the virus have several beneficial environmental implications due to decreased anthropogenic emissions and air pollutants, which provide a unique opportunity to understand and quantify the human impact on atmospheric environment. In the present study, the associated changes in Land Surface Temperature (LST), aerosol, and atmospheric water vapor content were investigated over highly COVID-19 impacted areas, namely, Europe and North America. The key findings revealed a large-scale negative standardized LST anomaly during nighttime across Europe (–0.11°C to –2.6°C), USA (–0.70°C) and Canada (–0.27°C) in March–May of the pandemic year 2020 compared to the mean of 2015–2019, which can be partly ascribed to the lockdown effect. The reduced LST was corroborated with the negative anomaly of air temperature measured at meteorological stations (i.e. –0.46°C to –0.96°C). A larger decrease in nighttime LST was also seen in urban areas (by ∼1–2°C) compared to rural landscapes, which suggests a weakness of the urban heat island effect during the lockdown period due to large decrease in absorbing aerosols and air pollutants. On the contrary, daytime LST increased over most parts of Europe due to less attenuation of solar radiation by atmospheric aerosols. Synoptic meteorological variability and several surface-related factors may mask these changes and significantly affect the variations in LST, aerosols and water vapour content. The changes in LST may be a temporary phenomenon during the lockdown but provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the effects of various forcing controlling factors in urban microclimate and a strong evidence base for potential environmental benefits through urban planning and policy implementation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… ( Shikwambana et al, 2021 ) Montreal city, Canada Around 80% reduction of traffic during lockdown which resulted in a decrease in LST up to 1°C. ( Teufel et al, 2021 ) Osaka city, Japan Lockdown resulted in reduction of temperature and electricity consumption by 0.13°C and 40%, respectively. ( Nakajima et al, 2021 ) …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown on land surface temperature, aerosol, and urban heat in Europe and North America

Parida

Bar

Kaskaoutis

et al. 2021

Sustainable Cities and Society

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“…Only the safety of the road speed, which should be used for public interest, was considered, while the social benefit achieved by considering the effects of noise and pollution on the residents was not taken into account. Even at the same volume of traffic, the amounts of noise and pollution caused vary according to the speed of the traffic [11] and are also related to the generation of artificial heat [38,39]. It is also necessary to prevent global warming and improve the quality of life of citizens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…caused vary according to the speed of the traffic [11] and are also related to the generation of artificial heat [38,39]. It is also necessary to prevent global warming and improve the quality of life of citizens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Optimal Speed Limits for Urban Roads Using Traffic Information Big Data

Kim

Jung

2021

Applied Sciences

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The use of an inconsistent speed limit determination method can cause low speed limit compliance. Therefore, we developed an objective methodology based on engineering judgment considering the traffic accident rate in road sections, the degree of roadside development, and the geometric characteristics of road sections in urban roads. The scope of this study is one-way roads with two or more lanes in cities, and appropriate sections were selected among all roads in Seoul. These roads have speed limits of the statutory maximum speed of 80 km/h or lower and are characterized by various speeds according to the function of the road, the roadside development, and traffic conditions. The optimal speed limits of urban roads were estimated by applying the characteristics of variables as adjustment factors based on the statutory maximum speed limit. As a result of investigating and testing various influence variables, the function of roads, the existence of median, the level of curbside parking, the number of roadside access points, and the number of traffic breaks were selected as optional variables that influence the operating speed. The speed limit of one-way roads with two or more lanes in Seoul was approximately 10 km/h lower than the current speed limit. The existing speed limits of the roads were applied uniformly considering only the functional road class. However, considering the road environment, the speed limit should be applied differently for each road. In the future, if the collection scope and real-time collection of road environment information can be determined, the GIS visualization of traffic safety information will be possible for all road sections and the safety of road users can be ensured.

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“…Teufel et al have developed several simulations to measure the effect of reduction of traffic-related heat emissions on urban temperature characteristics in the COVID-19 period. As it clear from simulation results, it has been revealed that an 80% reduction in traffic density will reduce the temperatures by 1 • C on average in the city of Montreal (Canada) [30].…”

Section: Literature Review On Vehicular Pollutant Emission Pre and Post Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 95%

Evaluation of Air Quality Index by Spatial Analysis Depending on Vehicle Traffic during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Turkey

et al. 2021

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As in other countries of the world, the Turkish government is implementing many preventive partial and total lockdown practices against the virus’s infectious effect. When the first virus case has been detected, the public authorities have taken some restriction to reduce people and traffic mobility, which has also turned into some positive affect in air quality. To this end, the paper aims to examine how this pandemic affects traffic mobility and air quality in Istanbul. The pandemic does not only have a human health impact. This study also investigates the social and environmental effects. In our analysis, we observe, visualize, compare and discuss the impact of the post- and pre-lockdown on Istanbul’s traffic mobility and air quality. To do so, a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach is proposed. Various spatial analyses are performed in GIS with the statistical data used; thus, the environmental effects of the pandemic can be better observed. We test the hypothesis that this has reduced traffic mobility and improved air quality using traffic density cluster set and air monitoring stations (five air pollutant parameters) data for five months. The results shows that there are positive changes in terms of both traffic mobility and air quality, especially in April–May. PM10, SO2, CO, NO2 and NOx parameter values improved by 21.21%, 16.55%, 18.82%, 28.62% and 39.99%, respectively. In addition, there was a 7% increase in the average traffic speed. In order for the changes to be permanent, it is recommended to integrate e-mobility and sharing systems into the current transportation network.

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Impact of COVID-19-Related Traffic Slowdown on Urban Heat Characteristics

Cited by 30 publications

References 43 publications

Impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown on land surface temperature, aerosol, and urban heat in Europe and North America

Impact of COVID-19 induced lockdown on land surface temperature, aerosol, and urban heat in Europe and North America

Estimation of Optimal Speed Limits for Urban Roads Using Traffic Information Big Data

Evaluation of Air Quality Index by Spatial Analysis Depending on Vehicle Traffic during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Turkey

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