IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 5067: Air Quality during COVID-19 in Four Megacities: Lessons and Challenges for Public Health
IJERPH, Vol. 17, Pages 5067: Air Quality during COVID-19 in Four Megacities: Lessons and Challenges for Public Health
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph17145067
Authors:
Patrick Connerton
João Vicente de Assunção
Regina Maura de Miranda
Anne Dorothée Slovic
Pedro José Pérez-Martínez
Helena Ribeiro
The study described in this manuscript analyzed the effects of quarantine and social distancing policies implemented due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on air pollution levels in four western megacities: São Paulo in Brazil; Paris in France; and Los Angeles and New York in the United States. The study investigated the levels of four air pollutants—Carbon monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Fine Particulate (PM2.5) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)—during the month of March 2020, compared to 2015–2019, in the urban air of these metropolitan areas, controlling for meteorological variables. Results indicated reductions in the levels of PM2.5, CO and NO2, with reductions of the latter two showing statistical significance. In contrast, tropospheric ozone levels increased, except in Los Angeles. The beneficial health effects of cleaner air might also help prevent deaths caused by the epidemic of COVID-19 in megacities by diminishing pressure on hospitals and health equipment. Future actions for the re-starting of non-essential economic activities in the...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Patrick Connerton Jo ão Vicente de Assunção Regina Maura de Miranda Anne Doroth ée Slovic Pedro Jos é Pérez-Martínez Helena Ribeiro Tags: Article Source Type: research
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