Airborne black carbon variations during the COVID-19 lockdown in the Yangtze River Delta megacities suggest actions to curb global warming.

ABSTRACT: Airborne black carbon is a strong warming component of the atmosphere. Therefore, curbing black carbon emissions should slow down global warming. The 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is a unique opportunity for studying the response of black carbon to the varied human activities, in particular due to lockdown policies. Actually, there is few knowledge on the variations of black carbon in China during lockdowns. Here, we studied the concentrations of particulate matter (PM_2.5) and black carbon before, during, and after the lockdown in nine sites of the Yangtze River Delta in Eastern China. Results show 40-60% reduction of PM_2.5 and 40-50% reduction of black carbon during the lockdown. The classical bimodal peaks of black carbon in the morning and evening rush hours

SUBMITTER: Li H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8454011 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature