Evaluation of Istanbul from the environmental components’ perspective: what has changed during the pandemic?

Abstract

This study aims to determine the 1-year change over the pandemic period in Istanbul, the megacity with the highest population in Turkey, based on environmental components. Among the environmental topics, water consumption habits, changes in air quality, changes due to noise elements, and most importantly, the changes in usage habits of disposable plastic materials that directly affect health have been revealed. The results obtained showed that, in Istanbul, 8.1 × 108 gloves should be considered waste, and considering the population living in districts along coastal areas, the number of waste masks that are likely to end up in the sea was 325.648 pieces/day. The results of the air quality and noise measurements during the pandemic showed that reductions in parallel with human activities were recorded with the lockdown effect. The average noise values of the districts along both sides of the Bosporus, where urbanization is concentrated, were between 50 and 59 dB. The precautions taken during the pandemic have had an effective role in reducing air pollution in Istanbul. In the measurements, the parameters with effective reductions were PM10 (7–47%), PM2.5 (13–48%), NO2 (13–38%), and SO2 (10–56%). As a result, Istanbul’s year of changes during the pandemic period, in terms of water, air, noise, and solid plastic wastes, which are the most important components of the environment, is presented.