Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality
Abstract With the unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide were forced to take measures to curb its transmission. Mobility restrictions policies were the primary preventive measures applied around the globe. In addition to reducing the disease spread, they resulted in air qua...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.210351 |
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| author | Anderson P. Rudke Daniela S. de Almeida Ronaldo A. Alves Alexandra Beal Leila D. Martins Jorge A. Martins Ricardo Hallak Taciana T. de Almeida Albuquerque |
| author_facet | Anderson P. Rudke Daniela S. de Almeida Ronaldo A. Alves Alexandra Beal Leila D. Martins Jorge A. Martins Ricardo Hallak Taciana T. de Almeida Albuquerque |
| author_sort | Anderson P. Rudke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract With the unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide were forced to take measures to curb its transmission. Mobility restrictions policies were the primary preventive measures applied around the globe. In addition to reducing the disease spread, they resulted in air quality changes in urbanized areas. In this sense, this study aimed to investigate how the mobility restrictions imposed by public policies impacted the air quality in Brazil during the COVID-19 2020 outbreak. Therefore, air quality (CO, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and O3) and urban mobility datasets available in five populous Brazilian states (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul) were analyzed. Variations in air pollutant concentrations were verified by comparing the period during mobility restrictions (2020) and the average concentrations found before the restrictions (2015–2019). In addition, spatial assessment of changes was evaluated using tropospheric NO2 column densities from the TROPOMI. Although there was no national regulation regarding mobility restrictions, the results show that the reduction in urban mobility was similar for all the analyzed states. Following the mobility behavior, reducing air pollutant concentrations were significant for the first 30 days of restrictions. During this period, the most substantial reductions were observed for CO in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (–53%), NO2 in Rio de Janeiro (–34%), and PM10 in Espírito Santo (–23%). The exception was observed for O3, which followed the world trend of increasing concentrations (e.g., 40% increase in Paraná). Spatially, it was possible to evidence that large urban centers (with a large vehicle fleet) were the ones that showed the most significant reduction in NO2. However, when analyzing longer periods (over 90 days), there is a trend towards an increase in the concentrations of primary pollutants and a consequent reduction in O3, reflecting the significant increase in mobility rates. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4fd2e5c4c10042f3b9af0b0548d37df2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1680-8584 2071-1409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-4fd2e5c4c10042f3b9af0b0548d37df22025-02-09T12:17:09ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092022-03-0122411610.4209/aaqr.210351Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air QualityAnderson P. Rudke0Daniela S. de Almeida1Ronaldo A. Alves2Alexandra Beal3Leila D. Martins4Jorge A. Martins5Ricardo Hallak6Taciana T. de Almeida Albuquerque7Universidade Federal de Minas GeraisFederal University of São CarlosFederal University of Technology - ParanáFederal University of Technology - ParanáFederal University of Technology - ParanáFederal University of Technology - ParanáInstituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas, Universidade de São PauloUniversidade Federal de Minas GeraisAbstract With the unexpected arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide were forced to take measures to curb its transmission. Mobility restrictions policies were the primary preventive measures applied around the globe. In addition to reducing the disease spread, they resulted in air quality changes in urbanized areas. In this sense, this study aimed to investigate how the mobility restrictions imposed by public policies impacted the air quality in Brazil during the COVID-19 2020 outbreak. Therefore, air quality (CO, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and O3) and urban mobility datasets available in five populous Brazilian states (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul) were analyzed. Variations in air pollutant concentrations were verified by comparing the period during mobility restrictions (2020) and the average concentrations found before the restrictions (2015–2019). In addition, spatial assessment of changes was evaluated using tropospheric NO2 column densities from the TROPOMI. Although there was no national regulation regarding mobility restrictions, the results show that the reduction in urban mobility was similar for all the analyzed states. Following the mobility behavior, reducing air pollutant concentrations were significant for the first 30 days of restrictions. During this period, the most substantial reductions were observed for CO in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (–53%), NO2 in Rio de Janeiro (–34%), and PM10 in Espírito Santo (–23%). The exception was observed for O3, which followed the world trend of increasing concentrations (e.g., 40% increase in Paraná). Spatially, it was possible to evidence that large urban centers (with a large vehicle fleet) were the ones that showed the most significant reduction in NO2. However, when analyzing longer periods (over 90 days), there is a trend towards an increase in the concentrations of primary pollutants and a consequent reduction in O3, reflecting the significant increase in mobility rates.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.210351Air pollutionLockdownCoronavirusBrazilian policies |
| spellingShingle | Anderson P. Rudke Daniela S. de Almeida Ronaldo A. Alves Alexandra Beal Leila D. Martins Jorge A. Martins Ricardo Hallak Taciana T. de Almeida Albuquerque Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality Aerosol and Air Quality Research Air pollution Lockdown Coronavirus Brazilian policies |
| title | Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality |
| title_full | Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality |
| title_short | Impacts of Strategic Mobility Restrictions Policies during 2020 COVID-19 Outbreak on Brazil’s Regional Air Quality |
| title_sort | impacts of strategic mobility restrictions policies during 2020 covid 19 outbreak on brazil s regional air quality |
| topic | Air pollution Lockdown Coronavirus Brazilian policies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.210351 |
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