Effect of transport measures and curfew against COVID-19 spread on air pollution (TSP) in Ecuador’s three most populous cities

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
State Level ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Traffic Emission ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Total Suspended Particulates ◽  
Level Ii ◽  
Pm2.5 And Pm10 ◽  
Future Consequences

Although current circumstances pose challenges to foretelling the future consequences of coronavirus spread, we consider environmental load-related researches became more and more important nowadays perhaps as never before. Many experts believe that the increasingly dire public health emergency situation, policy makers and word leaders should make it possible that the COVID-19 outbreak contributes to a transition of sustainable consumption. With the purpose of contributing to rethink the importance of sustainability efforts, here we present total suspended particulates (TSP) results which represent traffic emission caused air pollution in the three most populous cities of Ecuador obtained before, during, and after the: (i) the traffic measures entered into force on state level; (ii) curfew entered into force on state level; (iii) and quarantine entered into force (in Guayaquil, and whole Guayas province). We documented significant decrease in TSP emissions (PM2.5 and PM10) compared to normal traffic operation obtained from some four lanes roads in Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca. The most remarkable fall in suspended particulate values (96.47% decrease in PM2.5) compared to emission observed before traffic measures occurred in Cuenca.

scholarly journals Effect of transport measures and curfew against COVID-19 spread on air pollution (TSP) in Ecuador’s three most populous cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-59 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
National Level ◽  
Suspended Particulates ◽  
Total Suspended Particulates ◽  
Level Ii ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Sustainable Consumption And Production ◽  
Pm2.5 And Pm10 ◽  
Future Consequences

Although the current situation poses challenges to foretelling the future consequences of coronavirus spread, we consider that environmental load-related research has become more important than ever before. Many experts believe that in the framework of increasingly dire public health emergency, policy and decision makers should facilitate COVID-19 outbreak to transitioning to sustainable consumption and production. With the purpose of evaluating the importance of sustainability efforts, here we describe the total suspended particulates (TSP), originating from traffic emissions, caused by air pollution in the three most populous cities of Ecuador. Compared are measurements taken prior to, during, and after (i) traffic measures entered into force at national level; (ii) curfew entered into force at national level; and (iii) quarantine entered into force (in Guayaquil, and whole Guayas province). We documented significant decrease in TSP emissions (PM2.5 and PM10) as compared to normal traffic proceeding in four-lane roads, in the cities of Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca. The most substantial drop in suspended particulate values (96.47% decrease in PM2.5) relative to emissions observed prior to restricting traffic occurred in Cuenca.

scholarly journals The Influence of Contextual Factors on the Initial Phases of the COVID-19 Outbreak across U.S. Counties

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Messner ◽  
Sarah E Payson
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
State Level ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Black African ◽  
Exponential Growth Model

Objectives: To examine the influence of county- and state-level characteristics on the initial phases of the COVID-19 outbreak across U.S. counties up to April 14, 2020. Methods: We used a statistical exponential growth model for the outbreak. Contextual factors at county- and state-level were simultaneously tested with a multilevel linear model. All data was publicly available. Results: Collectivism was positively associated with the outbreak rate. The racial and ethnic composition of counties contributed to outbreak differences, affecting Black/African and Asian Americans most. Counties with a higher median age had a stronger outbreak, as did counties with more people below the age of 18. Higher income, education, and personal health were generally associated with a lower outbreak. Obesity was negatively related to the outbreak. Smoking was negatively related, but only directionally informative. Air pollution was another significant contributor to the outbreak, but population density did not give statistical significance. Conclusions: Because of high intrastate and intercounty variation in contextual factors, policy makers need to target pandemic responses to the smallest subdivision possible, so that countermeasures can be implemented effectively.

scholarly journals Analysis on the Effect of the Mobility of Combustion Vehicles in the Environment of Cities and the Improvement in Air Pollution in Europe: A Vision for the Awareness of Citizens and Policy Makers

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Javier Cárcel-Carrasco ◽  
Manuel Pascual-Guillamón ◽  
Fidel Salas-Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Combustion Gases ◽  
Short Time

Today, the design and remodeling of urban environments is being sought in order to achieve green, healthy, and sustainable cities. The effect of air pollution in cities due to vehicle combustion gases is an important part of the problem. Due to the indirect effect caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, political powers in Europe have imposed confinement measures for citizens by imposing movement restrictions in large cities. This indirect measure has given us a laboratory to show how the reduction in vehicle circulation affects in a short time the levels of air pollution in cities. Therefore, this article analyzes the effect in different European cities such as Milan, Prague, Madrid, Paris, and London. These cities have been chosen due to their large amount of daily road traffic that generates high levels of pollution; therefore, it can clearly show the fall in these pollutants in the air in the analyzed period. The results shown through this study indicate that the reduction in combustion vehicles greatly affects the levels of pollution in different cities. In these periods of confinement, there was an improvement in air quality where pollutant values dropped to 80% compared to the previous year. This should serve to raise awareness among citizens and political powers to adopt measures that induce sustainable transport systems.

Benchmarking performance of governance quality in Indian states using MCDM techniques

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 2850-2874
Author(s):  
Alok Raj ◽  
Rupika Khanna
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
State Level ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Indian States ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Promethee Ii ◽  
Social Service Delivery ◽  
Governance Quality ◽  
Key Indicators

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to benchmarking the governance performance of Indian states. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a framework to measure governance performance at the state level. Using the data on 28 key indicators, the authors evaluate Indian states on seven broad dimensions of governance quality covering several aspects of public service delivery, regulatory quality and law and order. The empirical methodology involves the application of multi-criteria decision making techniques in two steps. The authors, first develop suitable weights of the identified dimensions and criteria under each dimension by applying the inputs of an expert-based decision-panel in a best-worst framework. Next, using these weights, the authors evaluate ranking of each state using TOPSIS and PROMETHEE-II methods. Findings The results indicate wide disparities in the governance performance of Indian states. Based on different indicators, the paper evaluates the rank of all the major Indian states. Results reveal that “Social Service Delivery(S)” is the most influencing dimension for the development of a state. Overall, the authors find Andra Pradesh, NCT of Delhi and Goa to be the leading states in terms of governance quality. Research limitations/implications The paper provides policy makers with easy to use operational indicators to analyse the governance performance of Indian states. These would help in better monitoring of these states through competitive goal-setting for continuous improvement. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first formal assessment of governance quality in the Indian states in a multi-criteria framework. To this end, the paper addresses the issue of wide regional disparities in the country. The findings of the paper provide powerful insights to policy makers in setting up appropriate strategies to eliminate these disparities.

Policy analysis in state governments in Mexico

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Olmeda
Keyword(s):  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
State Level ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Mexican State ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Mexican Politics

State governments have acquired a central role in Mexican politics and policy making during the last decades as a result of both democratization and decentralization. Nowadays state governments not only concentrate a significant portion of prerogatives and responsibilities in terms of service delivery but also control a substantial share of public spending. However, no systematic studies have been developed in order to understand how state governments function. This chapter provides an overview on how policies are crafted at the subnational (state) level in Mexico, the main actors taking place in the process and the way in which professional knowledge and advice influence policy makers. As it argues, the central role in the policy making process is played by the executive branch, being the governors the ones who have the final word in most important decisions. In addition, secretaries also concentrate power in particular policy areas. As a result of the lack of a professional civil service, however, a significant portion of policy analysis is performed by non-governmental actors (universities, NGOs and private firms). The chapter applies this framework to analyze a particular Mexican state, namely Mexico City.

scholarly journals Association between Atmospheric Particulate Pollutants and Mortality for Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases in Chinese Korean Population: A Case-Crossover Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Zhang ◽  
Zhenyu Quan ◽  
Qincheng Wu ◽  
Zhezhen Jin ◽  
Joseph Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Cerebrovascular Disease ◽  
Cerebrovascular Diseases ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Aerodynamic Diameter ◽  
Case Crossover ◽  
Disease Mortality ◽  
Particulate Pollutants ◽  
Pm2.5 And Pm10 ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Air pollution in large Chinese cities has led to recent studies that highlighted the relationship between particulate matters (PM) and elevated risk of cardio-cerebrovascular mortality. However, it is unclear as to whether: (1) The same adverse relations exist in cities with relatively low levels of air pollution; and (2) the relationship between the two are similar across ethnic groups. Methods: We collected data of PM2.5 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) and PM10 (aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10 µm) in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2016. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design, we investigated whether levels of particulate pollutants influence the risk of cardio-cerebrovascular disease mortality among ethnic Korean vs. ethnic Han residents residing in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Results: Under the single air pollutant model, the odds ratios (ORs) of cardio-cerebrovascular disease were 1.025 (1.024–1.026) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 at lag0 day, 1.012 (1.011–1.013) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 at lag1 day. In the multi-pollutant model adjusted by PM10, SO2, and NO2, the ORs of cardio-cerebrovascular disease were 1.150 (1.145–1.155) for ethnic Koreans and 1.154 (1.149–1.158) for ethnic Hans for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. In the multi-pollutant model adjusted by PM2.5, SO2, and NO2, the ORs of cardio-cerebrovascular disease were 1.050 (1.047–1.053) for ethnic Koreans and 1.041 (1.039–1.043) for ethnic Hans for each 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10. Conclusion: This study showed that PM2.5 and PM10 were associated with increased risks of acute death events in residential cardio-cerebrovascular disease in Yanbian, China.

scholarly journals Spatial Mapping of a Highly Non-Uniform Distribution of Particle-Bound PAH in a Densely Populated Urban Area

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 496
Author(s):  
Kyung Hwan Kim ◽  
Kyung-Hwan Kwak ◽  
Jae Young Lee ◽  
Sung Ho Woo ◽  
Jong Bum Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Exposure Assessment ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Personal Exposure ◽  
Exposure Level ◽  
Traffic Emission ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Monitoring Procedure

In this work, a 2-D gridded air pollution map with a high resolution of 50 × 50 m2 was proposed to help the exposure assessment studies focusing on the association between air pollutants and their health effects. To establish a reliable air pollution map in a 2 × 2 km2 urban area, a mobile monitoring procedure and a data process were developed. Among the various vehicle-related air pollutants, the particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (pPAH) was chosen as a sensitive indicator. The average pPAH concentration on major roads (293.1 ng/m3) was found to be 35 times higher than that at a background location (8.4 ng/m3). Based on the cell-based pPAH concentrations, the 50 × 50 m2 cells in the air pollution map were categorized into five pollution levels. The higher air pollution levels were generally shown by the cells close to the major traffic emission points. The proposed map can be used to make various policies regarding land use and traffic flow control in urban areas. Estimation of the personal exposure level to air pollutants is possible at a reliable location using the highly resolved 2-D gridded air pollution map in exposure assessment studies.

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