Assessment of Lockdown Effectiveness during COVID-19 Pandemic Using Air Pollution Data in Armenia in March–June 2019 and 2020: A Cross-Sectional Study

Various methods used by different countries’ governments to control the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the cause of pandemic in 2020, affected air quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of lockdown in Armenia on the content of the main air pollutants—dust, SO2 and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmosphere 2022-09, Vol.13 (10), p.1563
Main Authors: Sargsyan, Aelita, Galstyan, Narek, Nahatakyan, Hamazasp, Morales-Suárez-Varela, Maria Manuela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Air quality
Atmospheric particulates
concentration of SO2
Control
Coronaviruses
Correlation
COVID-19
Cross-sectional studies
Disease control
Disease transmission
Dust
Environmental aspects
Nitrogen dioxide
NO2
Outdoor air quality
Pandemics
Pollutants
Pollution data
Quarantine
Sulfur dioxide
Viral diseases
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Summary:Various methods used by different countries’ governments to control the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the cause of pandemic in 2020, affected air quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of lockdown in Armenia on the content of the main air pollutants—dust, SO2 and NO2. This was a cross-sectional study. We analyzed data on the concentrations of SO2, NO2 and dust from March to June, 2019 and the same period in 2020 as well as data on positive COVID-19 cases from Yerevan, Vanadzor and Hrazdan. In 2020, dust was found to be lower in Yerevan and in Hrazdan and higher in Vanadzor than in the same period in 2019. The same pattern was present for SO2 concentrations: in Yerevan and Hrazdan there was a decrease, and there was an increase in Vanadzor. The concentrations of NO2 increased in Yerevan and Hrazdan, with a slight decrease in Vanadzor. New cases of COVID-19 had a negative correlation with dust and a positive correlation with SO2. The strict quarantine measures were effective in containing the spread of COVID-19.
ISSN:2073-4433
2073-4433
DOI:10.3390/atmos13101563