In:
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 5, No. 1 ( 2022-06-30)
Abstract:
The COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 have led to distinct variations in NO 2 and O 3 concentrations in China. Here, the different drivers of anthropogenic emission changes, including the effects of the Chinese New Year (CNY), China’s 2018–2020 Clean Air Plan (CAP), and the COVID-19 lockdown and their impact on NO 2 and O 3 are isolated by using a combined model-measurement approach. In addition, the contribution of prevailing meteorological conditions to the concentration changes was evaluated by applying a machine-learning method. The resulting impact on the multi-pollutant Health-based Air Quality Index (HAQI) is quantified. The results show that the CNY reduces NO 2 concentrations on average by 26.7% each year, while the COVID-lockdown measures have led to an additional 11.6% reduction in 2020, and the CAP over 2018–2020 to a reduction in NO 2 by 15.7%. On the other hand, meteorological conditions from 23 January to March 7, 2020 led to increase in NO 2 of 7.8%. Neglecting the CAP and meteorological drivers thus leads to an overestimate and underestimate of the effect of the COVID-lockdown on NO 2 reductions, respectively. For O 3 the opposite behavior is found, with changes of +23.3%, +21.0%, +4.9%, and −0.9% for CNY, COVID-lockdown, CAP, and meteorology effects, respectively. The total effects of these drivers show a drastic reduction in multi-air pollutant-related health risk across China, with meteorology affecting particularly the Northeast of China adversely. Importantly, the CAP’s contribution highlights the effectiveness of the Chinese government’s air-quality regulations on NO 2 reduction.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2397-3722
DOI:
10.1038/s41612-022-00276-0
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2925628-8
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