scholarly journals Air Pollution Mediates the Association between Human Mobility and COVID-19 Infection

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 210249
Author(s):  
Kang Lo ◽  
Nguyen Thanh Tung ◽  
Chih-Da Wu ◽  
Huynh Nguyen Xuan Thao ◽  
Hoang Ba Dung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Human Mobility

scholarly journals Subtle Changes or Dramatic Perceptions of Air Pollution in Sydney during COVID-19

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Peter Brimblecombe ◽  
Yonghang Lai
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
New South ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Physical Reality ◽  
Social Perceptions ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Significant Difference

The COVID-19 pandemic made it critical to limit the spread of the disease by enforcing human isolation, restricting travel and reducing social activities. Dramatic improvements to air quality, especially NO2, have often characterised places under COVID-19 restrictions. Air pollution measurements in Sydney in April 2019 and during the lockdown period in April 2020 show reduced daily averaged NO2 concentrations: 8.52 ± 1.92 and 7.85 ± 2.92 ppb, though not significantly so (p1~0.15) and PM2.5 8.91 ± 4.94 and 7.95 ± 2.64 µg m−3, again a non-significant difference (p1~0.18). Satellite imagery suggests changes that parallel those at ground level, but the column densities averaged over space and time, in false-colour, are more dramatic. Changed human mobility could be traced in increasing times spent at home, assessed from Google Mobility Reports and mirrored in decreased traffic flow on a major road, suggesting compliance with the restrictions. Electricity demand for the State of New South Wales was low under lockdown in early April 2020, but it recovered rapidly. Analysis of the uses of search terms: bushfires, air quality, haze and air pollution using Google Trends showed strong links between bushfires and pollution-related terms. The smoke from bushfires in late 2019 may well have added to the general impression of improved air quality during lockdown, despite only modest changes in the ground level measurements. This gives hints that successful regulation of air quality requires maintaining a delicate balance between our social perceptions and the physical reality.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on NO2 and PM2.5 Levels and Their Associations with Human Mobility Patterns in Singapore

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangyang Li ◽  
Yihan Zhu ◽  
Jia Yu Karen Tan ◽  
Hoong Chen Teo ◽  
Andrea Law ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
The South ◽  
High Association ◽  
Pollutant Level ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe decline in NO2 and PM2.5 pollutant levels were observed during COVID-19 around the world, especially during lockdowns. Previous studies explained such observed decline with the decrease in human mobility, whilst overlooking the meteorological changes (e.g., rainfall, wind speed) that could mediate air pollution level simultaneously. This pitfall could potentially lead to over-or under-estimation of the effect of COVID-19 on air pollution. Consequently, this study aims to re-evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on NO2 and PM2.5 pollutant level in Singapore, by incorporating the effect of meteorological parameters in predicting NO2 and PM2.5 baseline in 2020 using machine learning methods. The results found that NO2 and PM2.5 declined by a maximum of 38% and 36%, respectively, during lockdown period. As two proxies for change in human mobility, taxi availability and carpark availability were found to increase and decrease by a maximum of 12.6% and 9.8%, respectively, in 2020 from 2019 during lockdown. To investigate how human mobility influenced air pollutant level, two correlation analyses were conducted: one between PM2.5 and carpark availability changes at regional scale and the other between NO2 and taxi availability changes at a spatial resolution of 0.01°. The NO2 variation was found to be more associated with the change in human mobility, with the correlation coefficients vary spatially across Singapore. A cluster of stronger correlations were found in the South and East Coast of Singapore. Contrarily, PM2.5 and carpark availability had a weak correlation, which could be due to the limit of regional analyses. Drawing to the wider context, the high association between human mobility and NO2 in the South and East Coast area can provide insights into future NO2 reduction policy in Singapore.Graphical Abstract

scholarly journals Impact on Air Quality of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Urban Area of Palermo (Italy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (20) ◽  
pp. 7375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcello Vultaggio ◽  
Daniela Varrica ◽  
Maria Grazia Alaimo
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Infected People ◽  
National Crisis ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Pm 10 ◽  
The Impact

At the end of 2019, the first cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported in Wuhan, China. Thereafter, the number of infected people increased rapidly, and the outbreak turned into a national crisis, with infected individuals all over the country. The COVID-19 global pandemic produced extreme changes in human behavior that affected air quality. Human mobility and production activities decreased significantly, and many regions recorded significant reductions in air pollution. The goal of our investigation was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the concentrations of the main air pollutants in the urban area of Palermo (Italy). In this study, the trends in the average concentrations of CO, NO2, O3, and PM10 in the air from 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2020 were compared with the corresponding average values detected at the same monitoring stations in Palermo during the previous five years (2015–2019). During the lockdown period (10 March–30 April), we observed a decrease in the concentrations of CO, NO2, and particulate matter (PM)10, calculated to be about 51%, 50%, and 45%, respectively. This confirms that air pollution in an urban area is predominantly linked to vehicular traffic.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Higher Mortality in Chinese Regions With Chronic Exposure to Lower Air Quality

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Pansini ◽  
Davide Fornacca
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
High Carbon ◽  
Pm 2.5 ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Pollution Exposure

We investigated the geographical character of the COVID-19 infection in China and correlated it with satellite- and ground-based measurements of air quality. Controlling for population density, we found more viral infections in those prefectures (U.S. county equivalent) afflicted by high Carbon Monoxide, Formaldehyde, PM 2.5, and Nitrogen Dioxide values. Higher mortality was also correlated with relatively poor air quality. When summarizing the results at a greater administrative level, we found that the 10 provinces (U.S. state equivalent) with the highest rate of mortality by COVID-19, were often the most polluted but not the most densely populated. Air pollution appears to be a risk factor for the incidence of this disease, despite the conventionally apprehended influence of human mobility on disease dynamics from the site of first appearance, Wuhan. The raw correlations reported here should be interpreted in a broader context, accounting for the growing evidence reported by several other studies. These findings warn communities and policymakers on the implications of long-term air pollution exposure as an ecological, multi-scale public health issue.

scholarly journals Understanding Racial Disparities in Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Considering the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Population Distribution

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo Min Park ◽  
Mei-Po Kwan
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Population Distribution ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Personal Exposure ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Transit System ◽  
Daily Movement ◽  
Residential Neighborhood ◽  
Dynamics Of Population

This study investigates the effect of spatiotemporal distributions of racial groups on disparities in exposure to traffic-related air pollution by considering people’s daily movement patterns. Due to human mobility, a residential neighborhood does not fully represent the true geographic context in which people experience racial segregation and unequal exposure to air pollution. Using travel-activity survey data containing individuals’ activity locations and time spent at each location, this study measures segregation levels that an individual might experience during the daytime and nighttime, estimates personal exposure by integrating hourly pollution maps and the survey data, and examines the association between daytime/nighttime segregation and exposure levels. The proximity of each activity location to major roads is also evaluated to further examine the unequal exposure. The results reveal that people are more integrated for work in high-traffic areas, which contributes to similarly high levels of exposure for all racial groups during the daytime. However, white people benefit from living in suburbs/exurbs away from busy roads. The finding suggests that policies for building an extensive and equitable public transit system should be implemented together with the policies for residential mixes among racial groups to reduce everyone’s exposure to traffic-related air pollution and achieve environmental justice.

scholarly journals A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manu Sasidharan ◽  
Ajit Singh ◽  
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan ◽  
Ajith Kumar Parlikad
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
London Borough ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Pollution Concentrations ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Mobility Reduction

AbstractAn ecologic analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollution, and COVID-19 cases and fatality rates in London. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation (R2>0.7) between increment in air pollution and an increase in the risk of COVID-19 transmission within London boroughs. Particularly, strong correlations (R2>0.72) between the risk of COVID-19 fatality and NO2 and PM2.5 pollution concentrations were also found. Although this study assumed the same level of air pollution across a particular London borough, it demonstrates the possibility to employ air pollution as an indicator to rapidly identify the city’s vulnerable regions. Such an approach can inform the decisions to suspend or reduce the operation of different public transport modes within a city. The methodology and learnings from the study can thus aid in public transport’s response to COVID-19 outbreak by adopting different levels of human-mobility reduction strategies based on the vulnerability of a given region.One Sentence SummaryThis study introduces air pollution levels as an indicator for a region’s vulnerability to COVID-19 and suggests human-mobility reduction measures.

scholarly journals Reduction of transport-related air pollution. A case study based on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of NOx emissions in the city of Krakow

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 790-796
Author(s):  
Maciej Mikulski ◽  
Paweł Droździel ◽  
Sławomir Tarkowski
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Nitrogen Oxides ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Significance Test ◽  
Pollution Level ◽  
Measurement Results ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Abstract This article describes the impact of limiting human mobility related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of air pollution related to transport. The city of Krakow and the emission level of nitrogen oxides (NOx) were used as a case study. This article describes the air quality monitoring system in Krakow and the measurement results from the measurement station at Krasinskiego Avenue. The average values of the pollution level in April 2018–2020 were compared. For the selected range of data, a significance test was performed, which resulted in no grounds for rejecting the hypothesis of the equality of the mean levels of nitrogen oxides concentrations in the spring. The analysis takes into account the average monthly temperatures in the discussed years.

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