ABSTRACT
The Environmental Protection Agency of the Republic of Serbia continuously monitors and collects air quality parameters at numerous measuring points throughout the country. The results revealed that the levels of air pollution recorded during the lockdown differed from those recorded during the same period the previous years. In this paper, we examined pollutant concentration trends in 2020 and a few previous years to determine the underlying causes of these trends. Pollutants are measured at five stations in Belgrade from the beginning of March to the end of July between 2015 and 2020. Because no hourly data were available, NO2, SO2, and suspended particles PM10 and PM2.5 are average daily values, whereas CO and ozone are daily 8-hour maximums. Concentrations were compared and averaged only when data for the same period over time was available, i.e. when comparing 2020 to previous years. The results were compared to the annual and daily limit values (for ozone and CO 8 hours maximum, respectively), as well as the variations in concentrations over time. The goal of calculating and displaying these values is to specifically identify a change in air pollution during the COVID-19 virus pandemic isolation period. In general, for Belgrade in 2020, NO2 concentrations are lower at four stations, PM2.5 concentrations are lower at two stations, PM10 concentrations are higher at one station and lower at another, and SO2 concentrations are higher than in previous years (2015-2019).
KEYWORDS
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2023-07-06
PAPER REVISED: 2023-08-20
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2023-08-27
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2023-10-08
THERMAL SCIENCE YEAR
2024, VOLUME
28, ISSUE
Issue 1, PAGES [557 - 567]
- Cao, X., et al., Investigation of COVID-19-Related Lockdowns on the Air Pollution Changes in Augsburg in 2020, Germany, Atmospheric Pollution Research, 13 (2022), 9, 101536
- ***, American Lung Association, www.lung.org/clean-air/outdoors/what-makes-air-unhealthy
- ***, World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic www.who.int/eu-rope/emergencies/situations/covid-19
- Tello-Leal, E., et al., Association of Environmental and Meteorological Factors on the Spread of COVID-19 in Victoria, Mexico, and Air Quality During the Lockdown, Environmental Research, 196 (2021), 110442
- Filonchyk, M., et al., Impact of Covid-19 Lockdown on Air Quality in the Poland, Eastern Europe, Environmental Research, 198 (2021), 110454
- Yadav, R. et al., COVID-19 Lockdown and Air Quality of SAFAR-India Metro Cities, Urban Climate, 34 (2020), 100729
- Rahman, M. S., et al., How Air Quality and COVID-19 Transmission Change Under Different Lockdown Scenarios? A Case from Dhaka City, Bangladesh, Science of The Total Environment, 762 (2021), 143161
- Roy, S., et al., Geospatial analysis of COVID-19 lockdown effects on air quality in the South and Southeast Asian region, Science of The Total Environment, 756 (2021), 144009
- Kumari, P., Toshniwal, D., Impact of Lockdown on Air Quality Over Major Cities Across the Globe During COVID-19 Pandemic, Urban Climate, 34 (2020), 100719
- Aljahdali, M. O., et al., Impact of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Lockdown on Ambient Air Quality of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 28 (2021), 2, pp. 1356-1364
- Saxena, A., Raj, S., Impact of Lockdown During COVID-19 Pandemic on the Air Quality of North Indian Cities, Urban Climate, 35 (2021), 100754
- Sulaymon, I. D., et al., COVID-19 Pandemic in Wuhan: Ambient Air Quality and the Relationships Between Criteria Air Pollutants and Meteorological Variables Before, During, and After Lockdown, Atmos-pheric Research, 250 (2021), 105362
- Dantas, G., et al., The Impact of COVID-19 Partial Lockdown on the Air Quality of the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Science of the Total Environment, 729 (2020), 139085
- Nakada, L. Y. K., Urban, R. C., COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on the Air Quality During the Partial Lockdown in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, Science of The Total Environment, 730 (2020), 139087
- Gama, C., et al., The Impact of COVID-19 on Air Quality Levels in Portugal: A Way to Assess Traffic Contribution, Environmental Research, 193 (2021), 110515
- Zangari, S., et al., Air Quality Changes in New York City during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Science of The Total Environment, 742 (2020), 140496
- Mendez-Espinosa, J. F., et al., Air Quality Variations in Northern South America during the COVID-19 Lockdown, Science of The Total Environment, 749 (2020), 141621
- Jose M. Baldasano, COVID-19 Lockdown Effects on Air Quality by NO2 in the Cities of Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), Science of the Total Environment, 741 (2020), 140353
- Berman, J. D., Ebisu, K., Changes in U.S. Air Pollution during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Science of the Total Environment, 739 (2020), 139864
- Coccia, M., How do Low Wind Speeds and High Levels of Air Pollution Support the Spread of COVID-19?, Atmospheric Pollution Research, 12 (2021), 1, pp. 437-445
- Li, H., et al., Air Pollution and Temperature are Associated with Increased COVID-19 Incidence: A Time Series Study, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 97 (2020), Aug., pp. 278-282
- Liu, Q., et al., Spatiotemporal Impacts of COVID-19 on Air Pollution in California, USA, Science of the Total Environment, 750 (2021), 141592
- Srivastava, A., COVID-19 and Air Pollution and Meteorology-An Intricate Relationship: A Review, Chemosphere, 263 (2021), 128297
- Azuma, K., et al., Impact of Climate and Ambient Air Pollution on the Epidemic Growth During COVID-19 Outbreak in Japan, Environmental Research, 190 (2020), 110042
- ***, Regulation on Conditions for Monitoring and Air Quality Requirements ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia ", No, 11/2010, 75/2010 and 63/2013), www.sepa.gov.rs/
- ***, National Network of Automatic Stations for Air Quality Monitoring, www.amskv.sepa.gov.rs/kriterijumi.php?lng=en, (in Serbian)
- Guevara, M., et al., Time-Resolved Emission Reductions for Atmospheric Chemistry Modelling in Europe During the COVID-19 Lockdowns, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 21 (2021), 2, pp. 773-797
- Biswal, A., et al., COVID-19 Lockdown-Induced Changes in NO2 Levels Across India Observed by Multi-Satellite and Surface Observations, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 21 (2021), 6, pp. 5235-5251
- Bontempi, E., et al., The Europe Second Wave of COVID-19 Infection and the Italy "Strange" Situation, Environmental Research, 193 (2021), 110476
- Knežević, J., at al., Annual Report on the State of Air Quality in the Republic of Serbia for 2020, Ministry of Environmental Protection (in Serbian), Environmental Protection Agency, Belgrade, 2021