Impacts of nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 outbreak on air quality in Bangladesh: a spatiotemporal analysis

In this study, the concentrations of NO2, SO2, CO, and O3 from 1 February to 30 May of the year 2019 and 2020 were analyzed. The average SO2 and NO2 concentrations were decreased by 43 and 40%, respectively, while tropospheric O3 were found to be increased with a maximum of> 7%. Among the major cities, Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram, and Narayanganj were found to be more influenced by the restricted emissions. In Dhaka, NO2 and SO2 concentrations were decreased approximately by 69 and 67%, respectively. Our analysis reveals that NO2 concentrations are highly correlated with the regional COVID-19 cases (r = 0.74). The study concludes that the lockdown measures significantly reduced air pollution because of reduced vehicular and industrial emissions in Bangladesh.
Source: Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research