School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Economics, Erciyes University, 38039, Melikgazi, Kayseri, Turkey.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Aug;28(30):41149-41161. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-13556-8. Epub 2021 Mar 29.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected all aspects of life and poses a severe threat to human health and economic development. New York City administration enacted a strict isolation decision at the end of March 2020 to tackle the COVID-19, creating a unique opportunity to assess air quality. Therefore, we investigated the impact of the lockdown on air quality in New York City. We evaluated the air pollutants concentration, i.e., PM, CO, NO, SO, and O during the lockdown and compared them with pre-COVID-19. We explored the first phase of lockdown through a spatial approach, then formulated the air quality index (AQI) of each pollutant before and during the lockdown. Our findings revealed that (1) there was a significant decline in the concentration level of PM from 10.3 to 4.0 μg/m during phase one of lockdown. (2) NO concentrations have been decreased by up to 52% in 1st phase of lockdown. (3) O concentration has been increased by 44.4%. (4) Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island County encountered 18.75%, 55.62%, 47.14%, and 47% diminution in AQI due to lockdown as compared to 2018, respectively. Our key findings can provide critical environmental implications for policymakers, researchers, academics, and the US government.
新冠疫情的爆发对生活的各个方面都产生了不利影响，对人类健康和经济发展构成了严重威胁。2020 年 3 月底，纽约市政府采取了严格的隔离措施来应对新冠疫情，这为评估空气质量提供了一个独特的机会。因此，我们调查了封锁措施对纽约市空气质量的影响。我们评估了封锁期间和封锁前的空气污染物浓度，如 PM、CO、NO、SO 和 O。我们通过空间方法探索了封锁的第一阶段，然后制定了封锁前后每个污染物的空气质量指数（AQI）。我们的研究结果表明：（1）在封锁的第一阶段，PM 的浓度水平从 10.3μg/m 显著下降到 4.0μg/m。（2）NO 的浓度在第一阶段的封锁中下降了 52%。（3）O 的浓度增加了 44.4%。（4）与 2018 年相比，布鲁克林、曼哈顿、皇后区和斯塔滕岛县的 AQI 分别减少了 18.75%、55.62%、47.14%和 47%。我们的主要发现可以为政策制定者、研究人员、学者和美国政府提供重要的环境意义。
