Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies
China implemented a one-month lockdown after the 2020 Spring Festival to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The closure measures provide a rare opportunity to understand the resulting changes in air pollution levels and to test the effectiveness of previous environmental protection measures. We used th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.1011536/full |
| _version_ | 1797958029657767936 |
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| author | Hui Liu Ye Yu Ye Yu Xiaoyi Ma Xinying Liu Longxiang Dong Longxiang Dong Dunsheng Xia |
| author_facet | Hui Liu Ye Yu Ye Yu Xiaoyi Ma Xinying Liu Longxiang Dong Longxiang Dong Dunsheng Xia |
| author_sort | Hui Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | China implemented a one-month lockdown after the 2020 Spring Festival to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The closure measures provide a rare opportunity to understand the resulting changes in air pollution levels and to test the effectiveness of previous environmental protection measures. We used the time series decomposition method to quantify the air pollution in Lanzhou during the closure period. The results showed that during the epidemic lockdown period, although the concentration of SO2 in Lanzhou decreased substantially, there was a significant increase in the concentration of O3 (by 19.14%), followed by a gradual return to the normal level. Most of the changes during the COVID-19 lockdown were within the range of fluctuations over the past five years. The trend of decreasing SO2 and CO in 2020 was less than that during 2015–2019, and the continuous decline of the PM10 concentration exceeded expectations. NO2, PM2.5 and O3 maintained the trend of the previous five years. Our results show that temporary social closure measures have a limited effect on improving air quality in Lanzhou, and they emphasize the importance of reducing the O3 concentration in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:12:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33a5aab1d9614fc59cbc75fcd9347ae2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:12:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-33a5aab1d9614fc59cbc75fcd9347ae22023-01-09T05:48:54ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632023-01-011010.3389/feart.2022.10115361011536Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategiesHui Liu0Ye Yu1Ye Yu2Xiaoyi Ma3Xinying Liu4Longxiang Dong5Longxiang Dong6Dunsheng Xia7Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaKey Laboratory of Land Surface Process and Climate Change in Clod and Arid Regions, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaPingliang Land Surface Process and Severe Weather Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Pingliang, Gansu, ChinaKey Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaKey Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaKey Laboratory of Land Surface Process and Climate Change in Clod and Arid Regions, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaPingliang Land Surface Process and Severe Weather Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Pingliang, Gansu, ChinaKey Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, ChinaChina implemented a one-month lockdown after the 2020 Spring Festival to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The closure measures provide a rare opportunity to understand the resulting changes in air pollution levels and to test the effectiveness of previous environmental protection measures. We used the time series decomposition method to quantify the air pollution in Lanzhou during the closure period. The results showed that during the epidemic lockdown period, although the concentration of SO2 in Lanzhou decreased substantially, there was a significant increase in the concentration of O3 (by 19.14%), followed by a gradual return to the normal level. Most of the changes during the COVID-19 lockdown were within the range of fluctuations over the past five years. The trend of decreasing SO2 and CO in 2020 was less than that during 2015–2019, and the continuous decline of the PM10 concentration exceeded expectations. NO2, PM2.5 and O3 maintained the trend of the previous five years. Our results show that temporary social closure measures have a limited effect on improving air quality in Lanzhou, and they emphasize the importance of reducing the O3 concentration in the future.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.1011536/fulllockdownLanzhouO3particulate matterCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Hui Liu Ye Yu Ye Yu Xiaoyi Ma Xinying Liu Longxiang Dong Longxiang Dong Dunsheng Xia Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies Frontiers in Earth Science lockdown Lanzhou O3 particulate matter COVID-19 |
| title | Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies |
| title_full | Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies |
| title_short | Monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on air quality in Lanzhou: Implications for future control strategies |
| title_sort | monitoring the impact of the covid 19 lockdown on air quality in lanzhou implications for future control strategies |
| topic | lockdown Lanzhou O3 particulate matter COVID-19 |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.1011536/full |
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