Center of Science and Technology, North Fluminense State University, Campos dos Goytacazes, 28013-602, Brazil.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Nov 20;193(12):834. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-09629-3.
Atmospheric contaminants severely impact air quality in large global urban centers. The emergence of COVID-19 in China in December 2019 and its expansion around the world reduced human activities on account of the implementation of a social isolation policy. In Brazil, COVID-19 arrived in February 2020, and a policy of social isolation was adopted in March by state governments; this work aimed to evaluate pollutant gas emissions in Brazil in the face of the pandemic. In the city of São Paulo, the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) were analyzed at three automatic monitoring stations of the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (CETESB). In this way, reductions in concentrations of these gases were observed after the decree of social isolation on March 24, due to a noticeable drop in vehicle traffic in the city. A reduction in concentrations of NO, between 53.6 and 73%, and a decrease in concentrations of CO, from 50 to 66.7%, were obtained at the monitoring stations. Another impact caused by COVID-19 was the increase in deforestation and fires was identified in the Brazilian Legal Amazon after social isolation, due to the decrease in the inspection of environmental agencies. The fires produce thermal degradation of the biomass, generating polluting gases and material particulate. These atmospheric contaminants are extremely harmful to the health of Amazonian populations. Summed to the expansion of COVID-19 in this region, all these factors combined cause the public health system to collapse. CO emissions increase estimates, according to the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System technical report, ranged from 10 to 20% in 2020, compared to those from 2018. If Brazil maintains deforestation at this pace, it will be difficult to meet the emission reduction targets agreed at COP21.
大气污染物严重影响着大型全球城市中心的空气质量。2019 年 12 月中国出现的 COVID-19 疫情及其在全球的蔓延，由于实施了社会隔离政策，人类活动减少。2020 年 2 月，COVID-19 抵达巴西，各州政府于 3 月采取了社会隔离政策；这项工作旨在评估巴西在大流行期间的污染物气体排放。在圣保罗市，对环境公司（CETESB）的三个自动监测站的二氧化氮（NO）和一氧化碳（CO）浓度进行了分析。由于城市交通流量明显减少，自 3 月 24 日社会隔离令颁布以来，这些气体的浓度有所下降。NO 浓度降低了 53.6%至 73%，CO 浓度降低了 50%至 66.7%。社会隔离后，巴西法律亚马逊地区的另一个影响是森林砍伐和火灾增加，这是由于环境机构的检查减少所致。火灾会使生物质热降解，产生污染气体和物质颗粒。这些大气污染物对亚马逊地区居民的健康极为有害。COVID-19 在该地区的蔓延，再加上所有这些因素的综合作用，导致公共卫生系统崩溃。根据温室气体排放估算系统技术报告，2020 年 CO 排放量的估计值比 2018 年增加了 10%至 20%。如果巴西保持目前的砍伐速度，将很难实现 COP21 商定的减排目标。
