A study on variation of atmospheric pollutants over Bhubaneswar during imposition of nationwide lockdown in India for the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: The nationwide lockdown in India to flatten the pandemic COVID-19 curve has resulted in the reduction of anthropogenic emission sources to a great extent. This study reports change in air quality and its impact on the environment during the unique lockdown scenario at Bhubaneswar, a coastal smart city in east India. The urban air shows a remarkable reduction in the mean pollutant levels influenced by traffic emission viz. NO_x (~ 67 %) and BC (~ 47 %) during lockdown over the pre-lockdown. Comparatively, a lower reduction of CO (~ 14 %) is attributed to the dominance of natural atmospheric chemical regulation and biogenic sources in addition to anthropogenic contributions. In addition to the lockdown, frequent rain events due to depression in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) also had a si

SUBMITTER: Panda S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7444864 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature