Yao Ying, Artigas Francisco J, Fan Songyun, Gao Yuan
Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, 1 Dekorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 USA.
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102 USA.
Water Air Soil Pollut. 2022;233(8):289. doi: 10.1007/s11270-022-05764-w. Epub 2022 Jul 20.
Improved air quality has been the silver lining of the pandemic since early 2020. The air quality in northern New Jersey (NJ) was continuously measured during the COVID-19 pandemic and through the three stages of recovery, i.e., the Stay-at-home stage, Reopening stage 1, and Reopening stage 2. A significant change in air quality was observed during the Stay-at-home stage (March 16 to May 16, 2020) as most people stayed home and industrial activity decreased 60%. Compared to 2019, carbon dioxide (CO) decreased 17%, carbon monoxide (CO) decreased 7%, and nitrogen oxides (NO) decreased 51% during the Stay-at-home stage in 2020. However, the ground-level ozone (O) increased in 2020 because of the reduced NO emission and the possibly increased levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) due to warmer weather. With the step-by-step reopening process, the difference in local CO levels between 2019 and 2020 was reduced, and the NO concentration returned to its 2019 level. The CO concentrations were positively correlated with CO, and the NO concentrations were negatively correlated with O. Under the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, NJ consumed 14% less natural gas and 21% less gasoline; therefore, the CO, CO, and NO emissions and concentration levels were reduced besides the effects of meteorology parameters on air quality in metropolitan New Jersey. Our findings support that replacing fossil fuels with electric or renewable energy in the transportation systems and industry could be beneficial for the concentration reduction of certain greenhouse gases.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11270-022-05764-w.
自2020年初以来，空气质量改善一直是疫情带来的一线希望。在新冠疫情期间以及恢复的三个阶段，即居家阶段、重新开放第一阶段和重新开放第二阶段，对新泽西州北部（NJ）的空气质量进行了持续监测。在居家阶段（2020年3月16日至5月16日），空气质量发生了显著变化，因为大多数人待在家里，工业活动减少了60%。与2019年相比，2020年居家阶段二氧化碳（CO）减少了17%，一氧化碳（CO）减少了7%，氮氧化物（NO）减少了51%。然而，由于NO排放减少以及天气变暖可能导致挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）水平升高，2020年地面臭氧（O）增加。随着逐步重新开放的过程，2019年和2020年当地CO水平的差异减小，NO浓度恢复到2019年的水平。CO浓度与CO呈正相关，NO浓度与O呈负相关。在2020年新冠疫情期间，新泽西州天然气消费量减少了14%，汽油消费量减少了21%；因此，除了气象参数对新泽西州大都市空气质量的影响外，CO、CO和NO的排放及浓度水平也有所降低。我们的研究结果支持，在交通系统和工业中用电力或可再生能源替代化石燃料可能有利于降低某些温室气体的浓度。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s11270-022-05764-w获取的补充材料。
