COVID-19 and Air Pollution: Air Quality Impact in 13 Cities of the Jiangsu Province of China

Abstract

Jiangsu province is one of the economically strong provinces in east China. With the advance of the modernization process, the problem of air pollution in this area is facing a severe challenge under the common role of human activities and regional climate change. While the rest of the world struggles to control COVID-19, China has managed to control the pandemic rapidly and effectively with strong lockdown policies. This study investigates the change in air pollution (focusing on the air quality index (AQI), six ambient air pollutants nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters ≤10 μm (PM10) and ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5)) patterns for different periods in last 5 years. Different pollutants have different behavior identified in this studied which is helping for understanding the pattern of air quality. Short-term health advantages from the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to the reduction in air pollution and significant improvement in ambient air quality, which need the government to enact post-COVID environmental regulations.