scholarly journals Does Lockdown Improve Air Quality? Evidence from the blockade policy of county-level units in Hubei Province, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuke Fu ◽  
Zhuo Ma ◽  
Jiachao Peng ◽  
Jie Xiong ◽  
Jiabei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Hubei Province ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
County Level ◽  
Traffic Emission ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Policy Suggestions ◽  
Change Trend ◽  
The Government

Abstract Background The COVID-19 posed a great threat to the health of people all over the world. In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, Wuhan implemented the blockade policy on January 23, 2020. Subsequently, other cities in Hubei responded one after another. The flow of people, production and consumption activities were greatly reduced, and air pollution in some cities was obviously improved. Method We used the daily air pollution and weather data of 103 county-level units in Hubei Province from 2019 to 2020 to test whether the blockade policy affected the air quality. The method of regression discontinuity designs is adopted. And the blockade policy implemented by the government during COVID-19 is regarded as exogenous policy impact, so as to investigate whether the blockade policy will affect the air quality. Results (1) Lockdown has indeed brought about an improvement in air quality. During the lockdown period, the AQI decreased by 15.316%, and the concentrations of four air pollutants (PM10, NO2, PM2.5 and SO2) decreased by 19.607%, 12.395%, 11.448% and 1.278% respectively. (2) The improvement of air quality brought about by the blockade policy is not sustainable, and every index rebounded again about 30 days after lockdown. (3) RD estimation found that the concentrations of AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 decreased by 35.402%, 29.207%, 14.809% and 7.751% respectively. This is consistent with the change trend of the above results, but the change range is obviously larger than the previous one. Conclusion Although the study confirmed that most pollutant indexes decreased during the lockdown period, the blockade policy is not applicable to the prevention and improvement of air pollution. We put forward the policy suggestions from the following two aspects: Firstly, promote green travel and reduce traffic emission sources. Secondly, promote end-of-pipe governance and improve emission reduction efficiency.

scholarly journals The Impact of “Coal to Gas” Policy on Air Quality: Evidence from Beijing, China

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Liu ◽  
Xueli Chen ◽  
Jinyang Cai ◽  
Tomas Baležentis ◽  
Yue Li
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Beijing China

Air pollution has become an increasingly serious environmental problem in China. Especially in winter, the air pollution in northern China becomes even worse due to winter heating. The “coal to gas” policy, which uses natural gas to replace coal in the heating system in winter, was implemented in Beijing in the year 2013. However, the effects of this policy reform have not been examined. Using a panel dataset of 16 districts in Beijing, this paper employs a first difference model to examine the impact of the “coal to gas” policy on air quality. Strong evidence shows that the “coal to gas” policy has significantly improved the air quality in Beijing. On average, the “coal to gas” policy reduced sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter smaller than 10 µm (PM10), particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) by 12.08%, 4.89%, 13.07%, 11.94% and 11.10% per year, respectively. We find that the “coal to gas” policy is more effective in areas with less energy use efficiency. The finding of this paper suggests that the government should continue to implement the “coal to gas” policy, so as to alleviate the air pollution in Beijing, China.

scholarly journals Analysis of Urban Air Pollution and The Effectiveness of Air Pollution Control Policy in Malaysia: Case Study in Klang Valley, Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Haslina Mohd Shafie ◽  
Suzani Mohamad ◽  
Nor Lita Fadilah Rameli ◽  
Sahala Benny Pasaribu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Information System ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Geographic Information System ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Klang Valley ◽  
The Government

AbstractAir pollution in Malaysia is largely attributed to motor vehicles and land transportation, industrial activities and open burning. It has a hazardous effect on the public’s health and the environment. This study focuses on the spatial analysis of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) concentrations trend in Klang Valley stations, specifically in Klang, Petaling Jaya, Kajang, Shah Alam and Cheras from 2000 to 2009. The study used the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation technique under the Geographic Information System (GIS). This study found that the distribution pattern of CO spatial concentrations in the Klang Valley is the highest concentration and reached 2.5 ppm, especially in Klang and Petaling Jaya stations in 2002 and 2003. However, the annual concentration of O3 recorded in Klang, Petaling Jaya, Kajang, Shah Alam, and Cheras stations from 2004 to 2009 is between 0.01 to 0.025 ppm. While air quality legislations have been introduced in Malaysia, policies and regulations being established by the government, their enforcement is still weak. Subsequently, air pollution is still a significant issue in Malaysia. Strong cooperation between the government, stakeholders and the local community is important to promote environmental sustainability and improve the community’s well-being. Keywords: Air pollution; Geographic Information System (GIS); Air Quality Policy; Malaysia

scholarly journals Survey of knowledge and attitude of people about air pollution in Tehran, Iran

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Ahmadfazeli ◽  
Zohreh Hesami ◽  
Ali Ghanbari ◽  
Mohammad Safari ◽  
Mohammad Sadegh Has-sanvand
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
The Government

Introduction: The importance of air quality and paying attention to what we breathe have been valuable always. So that air pollution is one of the key environmental issues in urban communities. Several studies show that the potential effects of air pollution on human health include increased mortality and changes in cardiovascular and respiratory functions.   Materials and methods: The population of this study was people in 22 dis-tricts of Tehran megacity. The questionnaires were placed at the municipality centers of 22 districts and randomly completed by people who came to the center. Questions included the importance of air pollution, the comparison of air quality with last year, the main sources of air pollution, the problems created by air pollution, the quality of informing system, as well as questions about their satisfaction about government’s actions on air pollution control plans. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 24.   Results: 84.14 % of the participants stated that air pollution is important to them and has a negative influence on their lives. Also, most of them were not satisfied with the measures taken and expected that actions would be better to reduce air pollution. 91.10 % of the participants considered cars as the main causes of air pollution. Also, 68.22 % of people believed that air pollution had a significant negative impact on their quality of life.   Conclusion: Most people are willing to live at a higher cost but a less pol-luted environment, while more of them are not well aware of their role in reducing air pollution. Moreover further education should be provided on the role of people in reducing air pollution. Additionally, the government must deal with air pollutants and take serious measures.

Chile's pollution problems require regulatory rethink

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Agenda ◽  
The Government

Subject Air pollution concerns. Significance After a decade in which air quality in Chilean cities has shown little progress and has, in some cases, deteriorated, a two-week smog crisis in Santiago has highlighted the need for a reinvigorated approach to the problem. This is particularly the case because the crisis was triggered by lack of rainfall, one of the expected effects of climate change in central Chile. Impacts According to the government, air pollution-related illnesses continue to cost between 670 million and 1.9 billion dollars annually. Air pollution is primarily a winter problem and tends to slip out of the public agenda during the rest of the year. In a context of slow economic growth, tighter industry emissions standards would face important business opposition.

scholarly journals Microbial Air Quality in Neighborhoods near Landfill Sites: Implications for Public Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Stephen T. Odonkor ◽  
Tahiru Mahami
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Public Health Importance ◽  
Landfill Sites ◽  
The Government ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

Air pollution has been a major challenge worldwide particularly in the developing world. Improper waste disposal and management may result in microbial air pollution. In advanced countries, landfill sites are far from neighborhoods; however, the opposite is observed for landfill sites in the developing world. In Accra, some landfill sites are 100 meters from neighborhoods. The aim of this study was to assess the microbial air quality and associated environmental health hazards of landfill sites in selected districts in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A random sampling method was employed to select sampling sites across the dry and wet seasons from landfills and their corresponding neighborhoods. Results obtained showed a higher total count (CFU/m3) of bacteria and fungi in the air at the landfill sites than neighborhoods. Statistically significant variation p<0.05 in bacterial and fungal concentrations over two seasons was found for both landfills and neighborhoods. However, bacterial concentrations were significantly higher than fungal concentrations p<0.05 across seasons for all locations. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the highest (15.6 %) occurring microbe at both landfill sites and neighborhoods. This was followed by Staphylococcus aureus (12.7%). Other bacteria and fungi of public health importance such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus niger were also isolated from the study sites, above the WHO recommended levels. In conclusion, the landfill waste disposal and its close proximity to neighborhoods as observed in this study pose a potential environmental health risk, with dire implications for public health and safety. The government must enact and implement policies to regulate waste management and to ensure public safety.

The Impact of Building Tianfu New Area on Chengdu City Air Quality

2013 ◽  
Vol 726-731 ◽  
pp. 1396-1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Liu ◽  
Hong Ling Guo
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Positive Measure ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

This study analyzed the impact of building Tianfu new area in Sichuan on Chengdu city air quality. The paper insists the characteristics of terrain and climate in Tianfu new area lead to the difficult to convect and diffuse air pollutant, and the trend of air quality deteriorating has already emerged as the activities of a large number of industries and population. Absolutely ,building Tianfu new area will further aggravate this trend. And the paper suggests the government should take positive measure in management and policy to prevent and control air pollution.

scholarly journals Identifying Air Pollution As a Major Threat to Newly Grown Ecotourism Spot in Baranti, Purulia, West Bengal, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1895-1890
Author(s):  
Dibyendu Saha
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Pm 2.5 ◽  
Lower Productivity ◽  
The Government ◽  
Pm 10

Air pollution is a notable worldwide warning to human health. Every year, air pollution is accountable for more than five million death, out of these 91% occur in lower-middle-income countries. In addition to this, various respiratory & cardiovascular diseases, lower productivity and increased mortality are also related to air pollution, that’s why it’s often called a silent or invisible killer. However, Ecotourism generates opportunities for tourists wishing to enjoy the natural environment without destructing or disturbing its habitats. It is increasingly considered instrumental in helping the local socio-economic sustainable development and also as a means for generating revenues with the object of preserving the local traditional culture and craft. Environmental ambient quality must be considered as a crucial aspect in the predetermining process of prospective tourists and tourism destinations. The present study site Baranti, in Raghunathpur subdivision of Purulia district, West Bengal, India is situated in a splendid location within Baranti Lake and Baranti Hill, both has emerged as a fast-grown ecotourism spot over the last 7-8 years. The present study was carried out through survey questionnaire method from May 2020 (01.05.2020) - November 2020 (30.11.2020) on different categories of respondents like local people, hotel-resort owners & staff, local businessmen and tourists and simultaneously during this period, the air quality was also measured in respect of temperature, humidity, PM 2.5, PM 10, particles and CO2 through Temtop M2000C Air Quality Monitor at the said site. In the observation, ambient air quality was measured at three hours intervals on a day every week and 10 readings were taken from each site at a distance of 10 meters apart and the mean values were considered for statistical analyses. It was found that average PM 2.5, PM 10 & CO2 in ambient air in the study site were 64.26 ug/m3, 89.43 ug/m3 & 701.66 respectively therefore unexpectedly the ambient air is not only polluted but also moderate to unhealthy in respect of the said parameters as judged by the yardstick of Air Quality Guideline Levels laid down by the WHO. A well-defined management plan is required for controlling and minimising the said pollution with the interference of the Government and other agencies for the sustainable growth and development of the said ecotourism spot.

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Regression Algorithms on Air Pollution Dataset

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Sumit Upadhyay
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Accuracy Score ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
The Government ◽  
Respirable Particulate

Air pollution has both acute and chronic effects on human health, affecting a number of different systems and organs. Examining and protecting air quality has become one of the most essential activities for the government in many industrial and urban areas today. Air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone (O(3)), heavy metals, and respirable particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), differ in their chemical composition, reaction properties, emission, time of disintegration and ability to diffuse in long or short distances. The main objective of this paper to build a model for predicting Air Quality Index(AQI) of the specific cities using various types of machine learning algorithms namely Multiple Linear Regression, K Nearest Neighbours(KNN), Support Vector Machine(SVM) and Decision Tree. And also evaluate and compare the performance of every algorithm based on their accuracy score and errors. Air Pollution dataset is publicly available on different government sites. The implementation phase dataset is divided as 80% for the training of different models and the rest of the dataset is used for testing the model.

scholarly journals Air pollution and emigration behaviors – evidence of Hanoi

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Quang-Loc ◽  
Ananya Singh ◽  
Saanvi Jain ◽  
Khangai Shirchin
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Psychological Process ◽  
The People ◽  
Economic Forces ◽  
The Government ◽  
Collaborative Activities

Expeditious increase in population and industrialization has led to alarming rates of air pollution in all countries. However, developing economies have had to face a more adverse and severe impact. This had led to many changes in the day to day living of citizens. In this paper we have focused on the psychological process and predictors of migration intention of the people living in Hanoi, Vietnam. Two stratified random datasets of 475 people were used, and Bayesian analysis was performed on this dataset. We found out that the intent to move was negatively associated to the individual’s satisfaction with air quality. We also found that people who have family members that have fallen victim to a disease caused by air pollution are more likely to migrate. This paper discusses an important topic: immigration of the younger demographic, i.e. the Hanoi workforce, which may cause restrictions and hurdles in the city's urbanisation and development. The findings suggest that, if measures against air pollution are not taken, economic forces may be disrupted, posing a threat to urban growth. As a result, collaborative activities and steps need to be taken by the government to curb this unfortunate consequence.

COVID-19 Lockdown and the Aerosphere in India: Lessons Learned on How to Reduce Air Pollution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhasmita Panda ◽  
Priyadatta Satpathy ◽  
Trutpi Das ◽  
Boopathy Ramasamy
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Oxides Of Nitrogen ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Constant Operation ◽  
The Government

The giant increase in COVID-19 infection across India forced the government to impose strict lockdown in order to curb the pandemic. Although the stringent restrictions crippled India’s economy and poor people’s livelihood, it significantly improved the air quality of most of the polluted cities of India and rejuvenated the atmosphere. Thus, the major objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of lockdown on pollutants prevailing in the atmosphere. A prominent decline in primary pollutants such as Particulate matter (PM), Black carbon (BC), Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), Carbon monoxide (CO) is observed across the country. However, lockdown had a trifling impact on Sulphur dioxide (SO2) concentration over some parts of India due to the constant operation of coal-fired thermal plants as a part of essential service. Furthermore, the sudden decline in NOx concentration disturbed the complex atmospheric chemistry and lead to an enhancement of surface ozone (O3) (secondary pollutant) in many cities of India. Thus, lockdown emerged as a unique opportunity for the atmospheric researchers, policymakers as well as stakeholders to collect baseline data of pollutants and their major sources. This will help to set new targets of air quality standards and to develop various mitigation processes to combat air pollution.

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