Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data

The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to people’s daily lives, work, and the surrounding environment. Investigations into these changes are very important for decision makers to implement policies on economic loss assessments and stimulation packages, city reopenin...

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Main Authors: Qian Liu, Dexuan Sha, Wei Liu, Paul Houser, Luyao Zhang, Ruizhi Hou, Hai Lan, Colin Flynn, Mingyue Lu, Tao Hu, Chaowei Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/10/1576
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author Qian Liu
Dexuan Sha
Wei Liu
Paul Houser
Luyao Zhang
Ruizhi Hou
Hai Lan
Colin Flynn
Mingyue Lu
Tao Hu
Chaowei Yang
author_facet Qian Liu
Dexuan Sha
Wei Liu
Paul Houser
Luyao Zhang
Ruizhi Hou
Hai Lan
Colin Flynn
Mingyue Lu
Tao Hu
Chaowei Yang
author_sort Qian Liu
collection DOAJ
description The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to people’s daily lives, work, and the surrounding environment. Investigations into these changes are very important for decision makers to implement policies on economic loss assessments and stimulation packages, city reopening, resilience of the environment, and arrangement of medical resources. In order to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on people’s lives, activities, and the natural environment, this paper investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics of Nighttime Light (NTL) radiance and Air Quality Index (AQI) before and during the pandemic in mainland China. The monthly mean NTL radiance, and daily and monthly mean AQI are calculated over mainland China and compared before and during the pandemic. Our results show that the monthly average NTL brightness is much lower during the quarantine period than before. This study categorizes NTL into three classes: residential area, transportation, and public facilities and commercial centers, with NTL radiance ranges of 5–20, 20–40 and greater than 40 (nW·<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow> <mi>cm</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>·<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow> <mi>sr</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mn>1</mn> </mrow> </msup> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>), respectively. We found that the Number of Pixels (NOP) with NTL detection increased in the residential area and decreased in the commercial centers for most of the provinces after the shutdown, while transportation and public facilities generally stayed the same. More specifically, we examined these factors in Wuhan, where the first confirmed cases were reported, and where the earliest quarantine measures were taken. Observations and analysis of pixels associated with commercial centers were observed to have lower NTL radiance values, indicating a dimming behavior, while residential area pixels recorded increased levels of brightness after the beginning of the lockdown. The study also discovered a significant decreasing trend in the daily average AQI for mainland China from January to March 2020, with cleaner air in most provinces during February and March, compared to January 2020. In conclusion, the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 has had a crucial impact on people’s daily lives and activity ranges through the increased implementation of lockdown and quarantine policies. On the other hand, the air quality of mainland China has improved with the reduction in non-essential industries and motor vehicle usage. This evidence demonstrates that the Chinese government has executed very stringent quarantine policies to deal with the pandemic. The decisive response to control the spread of COVID-19 provides a reference for other parts of the world.
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spelling doaj.art-ed5475810a2748139017f3437d40d4c42023-11-20T00:37:13ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-05-011210157610.3390/rs12101576Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality DataQian Liu0Dexuan Sha1Wei Liu2Paul Houser3Luyao Zhang4Ruizhi Hou5Hai Lan6Colin Flynn7Mingyue Lu8Tao Hu9Chaowei Yang10NSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USANSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USANSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USADepartment of Geography and Geoinformation Science, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USASchool of Business Management, East China Normal University, 3663 Zhongshanbei Road, Shanghai 200062, ChinaSchool of Mathematical Sciences, East China Normal University, 3663 Zhongshanbei Road, Shanghai 200062, ChinaNSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USADepartment of Geography and Geoinformation Science, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USASchool of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science Technology, 219 Ningliu Road, Nanjing 210044, ChinaCenter for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USANSF Spatiotemporal Innovation Center, George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA 22030, USAThe sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to people’s daily lives, work, and the surrounding environment. Investigations into these changes are very important for decision makers to implement policies on economic loss assessments and stimulation packages, city reopening, resilience of the environment, and arrangement of medical resources. In order to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on people’s lives, activities, and the natural environment, this paper investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics of Nighttime Light (NTL) radiance and Air Quality Index (AQI) before and during the pandemic in mainland China. The monthly mean NTL radiance, and daily and monthly mean AQI are calculated over mainland China and compared before and during the pandemic. Our results show that the monthly average NTL brightness is much lower during the quarantine period than before. This study categorizes NTL into three classes: residential area, transportation, and public facilities and commercial centers, with NTL radiance ranges of 5–20, 20–40 and greater than 40 (nW·<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow> <mi>cm</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>·<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <msup> <mrow> <mi>sr</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mn>1</mn> </mrow> </msup> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>), respectively. We found that the Number of Pixels (NOP) with NTL detection increased in the residential area and decreased in the commercial centers for most of the provinces after the shutdown, while transportation and public facilities generally stayed the same. More specifically, we examined these factors in Wuhan, where the first confirmed cases were reported, and where the earliest quarantine measures were taken. Observations and analysis of pixels associated with commercial centers were observed to have lower NTL radiance values, indicating a dimming behavior, while residential area pixels recorded increased levels of brightness after the beginning of the lockdown. The study also discovered a significant decreasing trend in the daily average AQI for mainland China from January to March 2020, with cleaner air in most provinces during February and March, compared to January 2020. In conclusion, the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 has had a crucial impact on people’s daily lives and activity ranges through the increased implementation of lockdown and quarantine policies. On the other hand, the air quality of mainland China has improved with the reduction in non-essential industries and motor vehicle usage. This evidence demonstrates that the Chinese government has executed very stringent quarantine policies to deal with the pandemic. The decisive response to control the spread of COVID-19 provides a reference for other parts of the world.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/10/1576earth systembig datapandemicresilienceimpact and response
spellingShingle Qian Liu
Dexuan Sha
Wei Liu
Paul Houser
Luyao Zhang
Ruizhi Hou
Hai Lan
Colin Flynn
Mingyue Lu
Tao Hu
Chaowei Yang
Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data
Remote Sensing
earth system
big data
pandemic
resilience
impact and response
title Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data
title_full Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data
title_short Spatiotemporal Patterns of COVID-19 Impact on Human Activities and Environment in Mainland China Using Nighttime Light and Air Quality Data
title_sort spatiotemporal patterns of covid 19 impact on human activities and environment in mainland china using nighttime light and air quality data
topic earth system
big data
pandemic
resilience
impact and response
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/10/1576
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