Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data
The COVID-19 pandemic has infected almost 73 million people and is responsible for over 1.63 million fatalities worldwide since early December 2019, when it was first reported in Wuhan, China. In the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing measures, such as lockdown restrictions, were applie...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/1/5 |
| _version_ | 1797543961841106944 |
|---|---|
| author | William Straka Shobha Kondragunta Zigang Wei Hai Zhang Steven D. Miller Alexander Watts |
| author_facet | William Straka Shobha Kondragunta Zigang Wei Hai Zhang Steven D. Miller Alexander Watts |
| author_sort | William Straka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic has infected almost 73 million people and is responsible for over 1.63 million fatalities worldwide since early December 2019, when it was first reported in Wuhan, China. In the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing measures, such as lockdown restrictions, were applied in a non-uniform way across the world to reduce the spread of the virus. While such restrictions contributed to flattening the curve in places like Italy, Germany, and South Korea, it plunged the economy in the United States to a level of recession not seen since WWII, while also improving air quality due to the reduced mobility. Using daily Earth observation data (Day/Night Band (DNB) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Suomi-NPP and NO<sub>2</sub> measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument TROPOMI) along with monthly averaged cell phone derived mobility data, we examined the economic and environmental impacts of lockdowns in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Washington DC from February to April 2020—encompassing the most profound shutdown measures taken in the U.S. The preliminary analysis revealed that the reduction in mobility involved two major observable impacts: (i) improved air quality (a reduction in NO<sub>2</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration), but (ii) reduced economic activity (a decrease in energy consumption as measured by the radiance from the DNB data) that impacted on gross domestic product, poverty levels, and the unemployment rate. With the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases and declining economic conditions, such knowledge can be combined with unemployment and demographic data to develop policies and strategies for the safe reopening of the economy while preserving our environment and protecting vulnerable populations susceptible to COVID-19 infection. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:52:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f70eadcc1a634ea6acbd9831a96bbb68 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:52:51Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-f70eadcc1a634ea6acbd9831a96bbb682023-11-21T02:01:51ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922020-12-01131510.3390/rs13010005Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation DataWilliam Straka0Shobha Kondragunta1Zigang Wei2Hai Zhang3Steven D. Miller4Alexander Watts5Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USANational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 5200 Auth Rd., Camp Springs, MD 20746, USAI. M. Systems Group, 5830 University Research Court, College Park, MD 20740, USAI. M. Systems Group, 5830 University Research Court, College Park, MD 20740, USACooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USABlueDot Inc., Toronto, ON M5J 1A7, CanadaThe COVID-19 pandemic has infected almost 73 million people and is responsible for over 1.63 million fatalities worldwide since early December 2019, when it was first reported in Wuhan, China. In the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing measures, such as lockdown restrictions, were applied in a non-uniform way across the world to reduce the spread of the virus. While such restrictions contributed to flattening the curve in places like Italy, Germany, and South Korea, it plunged the economy in the United States to a level of recession not seen since WWII, while also improving air quality due to the reduced mobility. Using daily Earth observation data (Day/Night Band (DNB) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Suomi-NPP and NO<sub>2</sub> measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument TROPOMI) along with monthly averaged cell phone derived mobility data, we examined the economic and environmental impacts of lockdowns in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Washington DC from February to April 2020—encompassing the most profound shutdown measures taken in the U.S. The preliminary analysis revealed that the reduction in mobility involved two major observable impacts: (i) improved air quality (a reduction in NO<sub>2</sub> and PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration), but (ii) reduced economic activity (a decrease in energy consumption as measured by the radiance from the DNB data) that impacted on gross domestic product, poverty levels, and the unemployment rate. With the continuing rise of COVID-19 cases and declining economic conditions, such knowledge can be combined with unemployment and demographic data to develop policies and strategies for the safe reopening of the economy while preserving our environment and protecting vulnerable populations susceptible to COVID-19 infection.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/1/5COVID-19earth observation datanitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>)night light imagery (VIIRS)mobilityenvironmental impacts |
| spellingShingle | William Straka Shobha Kondragunta Zigang Wei Hai Zhang Steven D. Miller Alexander Watts Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data Remote Sensing COVID-19 earth observation data nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>) night light imagery (VIIRS) mobility environmental impacts |
| title | Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data |
| title_full | Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data |
| title_fullStr | Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data |
| title_short | Examining the Economic and Environmental Impacts of COVID-19 Using Earth Observation Data |
| title_sort | examining the economic and environmental impacts of covid 19 using earth observation data |
| topic | COVID-19 earth observation data nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>) night light imagery (VIIRS) mobility environmental impacts |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/1/5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT williamstraka examiningtheeconomicandenvironmentalimpactsofcovid19usingearthobservationdata AT shobhakondragunta examiningtheeconomicandenvironmentalimpactsofcovid19usingearthobservationdata AT zigangwei examiningtheeconomicandenvironmentalimpactsofcovid19usingearthobservationdata AT haizhang examiningtheeconomicandenvironmentalimpactsofcovid19usingearthobservationdata AT stevendmiller examiningtheeconomicandenvironmentalimpactsofcovid19usingearthobservationdata AT alexanderwatts examiningtheeconomicandenvironmentalimpactsofcovid19usingearthobservationdata |