Substantial Changes of Gaseous Pollutants and Health Effects During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period Across China.

ABSTRACT: The human movement and economic activities have been drastically reduced due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, leading to the sharp decreases of pollutant emissions and remarkable air quality improvement. Nevertheless, however, the changes of gaseous pollutant concentrations and health effects across China during the COVID-19 lockdown period remained poorly understood. Here, a random forest model was applied to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on pollutant concentrations and potential health effects. The results suggested that estimated NO₂, SO₂, and CO concentrations in China during January 23-March 31, 2020 decreased by 13.68%, 25.71%, and 7.42%, respectively compared with the same periods in 2018-2019. Nonetheless, the predicted 8-h O₃

SUBMITTER: Ling C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8144698 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature