Covid-19 mobility restrictions: impacts on urban air quality and health.

ABSTRACT: In 2020, Covid-19-related mobility restrictions resulted in the most extensive human-made air-quality changes ever recorded. The changes in mobility are quantified in terms of outdoor air pollution (concentrations of PM_2.5 and NO₂) and the associated health impacts in four UK cities (Greater London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast). After applying a weather-corrected machine learning (ML) technique, all four cities show NO₂ and PM_2.5 concentration anomalies in 2020 when compared with the ML-predicted values for that year. The NO₂ anomalies are -21% for Greater London, -19% for Cardiff, -27% for Belfast and -41% for Edinburgh. The PM_2.5 anomalies are 7% for Greater London, -1% for Cardiff, -15% for Edinburgh, -14% for Belfast.

SUBMITTER: Mohajeri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7611887 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature