Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations
The nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 reduced industrial and human activities in China. In this study, we investigate atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) concentration changes during the lockdown from observations at the surface and from two satellites (TROPOspheric Monitoring In...
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1129 |
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| author | Minqiang Zhou Jingyi Jiang Bavo Langerock Bart Dils Mahesh Kumar Sha Martine De Mazière |
| author_facet | Minqiang Zhou Jingyi Jiang Bavo Langerock Bart Dils Mahesh Kumar Sha Martine De Mazière |
| author_sort | Minqiang Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 reduced industrial and human activities in China. In this study, we investigate atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) concentration changes during the lockdown from observations at the surface and from two satellites (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)). It is found that the average CO surface concentration in 2020 was close to that in 2019 before the lockdown, and became 18.7% lower as compared to 2019 during the lockdown. The spatial variation of the change in the CO surface concentration is high, with an 8–27% reduction observed for Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, and Guangzhou, and almost no change in Wuhan. The TROPOMI and IASI satellite observations show that the CO columns decreased by 2–13% during the lockdown in most regions in China. However in South China, there was an 8.8% increase in the CO columns observed by TROPOMI and a 36.7% increase observed by IASI, which is contrary to the 23% decrease in the surface CO concentration. The enhancement of the CO column in South China is strongly affected by the fire emissions transported from Southeast Asia. This study provides an insight into the impact of COVID-19 on CO concentrations both at the surface and in the columns in China, and it can be extended to evaluate other areas using the same approach. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:11:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a1ed11e7dfb24230a9b399382d30f0a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:11:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-a1ed11e7dfb24230a9b399382d30f0a02023-11-21T10:45:09ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-03-01136112910.3390/rs13061129Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite ObservationsMinqiang Zhou0Jingyi Jiang1Bavo Langerock2Bart Dils3Mahesh Kumar Sha4Martine De Mazière5Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), 1180 Brussels, BelgiumThe College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, ChinaRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), 1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), 1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), 1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), 1180 Brussels, BelgiumThe nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 reduced industrial and human activities in China. In this study, we investigate atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) concentration changes during the lockdown from observations at the surface and from two satellites (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI)). It is found that the average CO surface concentration in 2020 was close to that in 2019 before the lockdown, and became 18.7% lower as compared to 2019 during the lockdown. The spatial variation of the change in the CO surface concentration is high, with an 8–27% reduction observed for Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, and Guangzhou, and almost no change in Wuhan. The TROPOMI and IASI satellite observations show that the CO columns decreased by 2–13% during the lockdown in most regions in China. However in South China, there was an 8.8% increase in the CO columns observed by TROPOMI and a 36.7% increase observed by IASI, which is contrary to the 23% decrease in the surface CO concentration. The enhancement of the CO column in South China is strongly affected by the fire emissions transported from Southeast Asia. This study provides an insight into the impact of COVID-19 on CO concentrations both at the surface and in the columns in China, and it can be extended to evaluate other areas using the same approach.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1129carbon monoxideCOVID-19Chinasurface concentrationTROPOMIIASI |
| spellingShingle | Minqiang Zhou Jingyi Jiang Bavo Langerock Bart Dils Mahesh Kumar Sha Martine De Mazière Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations Remote Sensing carbon monoxide COVID-19 China surface concentration TROPOMI IASI |
| title | Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations |
| title_full | Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations |
| title_fullStr | Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations |
| title_short | Change of CO Concentration Due to the COVID-19 Lockdown in China Observed by Surface and Satellite Observations |
| title_sort | change of co concentration due to the covid 19 lockdown in china observed by surface and satellite observations |
| topic | carbon monoxide COVID-19 China surface concentration TROPOMI IASI |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/6/1129 |
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