Department of Mathematic and Statistics, Hazara University, Mansehra, 23010, Pakistan.
School of Statistics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, 330013, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Oct;28(39):54728-54743. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-13851-4. Epub 2021 May 20.
In Wuhan city, China, a pneumonia-like disease of unknown origin triggered a catastrophe. This disease has spread to 215 nations, affecting a diverse variety of persons. It was formally called extreme acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2), also known as coronavirus disease, by the World Health Organization as a pandemic. This pandemic forced countries to enforce a socio-economic lockdown to avoid its widespread presence. This study focuses on how the pollution of particulate matter during the coronavirus pandemic in the period from 23 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 was reduced compared to the pre-pandemic situation in the country. The improvement in air quality and atmosphere due to the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan was identified by both ground-based and satellite observations with a primary focus on the four provincial capitals and country capitals, namely, Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, and Islamabad, and statistically verified through paired Student's t test. Both datasets have shown a significant decrease in the levels of PM pollutions across Pakistan (ranging from 15 to 35% for satellite observations, while 27 to 61% for ground-based observations). The result shows that poor air quality is one of the key factors for a higher COVID-19 spread rate in major Pakistani cities. By extending the same investigation across the nation, there is a greater need to investigate the connections between COVID-19 spread and air pollution. However, both higher population density rates and frequent population exposure can be partially attributed to increased levels of PM concentrations before the pandemic of the coronavirus.
在中国武汉市，一种不明来源的肺炎样疾病引发了一场灾难。这种疾病已经蔓延到 215 个国家，影响了各种人群。世界卫生组织正式将其命名为严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2），也称为冠状病毒病，作为一种大流行。这场大流行迫使各国实施社会经济封锁，以避免其广泛存在。本研究关注的是 2020 年 3 月 23 日至 2020 年 12 月 31 日期间，与大流行前相比，冠状病毒大流行期间颗粒物污染减少的情况。本研究通过地面观测和卫星观测，确定了巴基斯坦因冠状病毒大流行而改善的空气质量和大气状况，重点关注四个省会城市和国家首都，即白沙瓦、卡拉奇、奎达、拉合尔和伊斯兰堡，并通过配对学生 t 检验进行了统计验证。两个数据集都表明，巴基斯坦各地的 PM 污染水平显著下降（卫星观测范围为 15%至 35%，地面观测范围为 27%至 61%）。结果表明，空气质量差是巴基斯坦主要城市 COVID-19 传播率较高的关键因素之一。通过在全国范围内进行同样的调查，有必要进一步调查 COVID-19 传播与空气污染之间的关系。然而，在冠状病毒大流行之前，较高的人口密度和频繁的人口暴露可能部分归因于 PM 浓度的增加。
