Influence of meteorology, mobility, air mass transport and biomass burning on PM_2.5 of three north Indian cities: phase-wise analysis of the COVID-19 lockdown.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies concluded that air quality has improved due to the enforcement of lockdown in the wake of COVID-19. However, they mostly concentrated on the changes during the lockdown period, and the studies considering the consequences of de-escalation of lockdown are inadequate. Therefore, we investigated the changes in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) during the pre-lockdown, strict lockdown, unlocking, and post-lockdown scenarios. In addition, we assessed the influence of meteorology, mobility, air mass transport, and biomass burning on PM_2.5 using Google's mobility data, back trajectory model, and satellite-based fire incident data. Average PM_2.5 concentrations in Ghaziabad, Noida, and Faridabad decreased by 60.70%, 63.27%, and 60.40%, respectively, dur

SUBMITTER: Arunkumar M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8412385 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature