Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and control measures on air quality and aerosol light absorption in Southwestern China

Highlights

• During the COVID-19 lockdown, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO_x, and BC decreased by 30–50%.

• The decrease of NO_x caused the rise of O₃ by up to 2.3 times due to the VOCs-limitation.

• Basic power generation and industry provided ~47% of NO_x and 68% of PM_2.5 during winter.

• BrC accounted for 54.0% of the aerosol absorption coefficient at 370 nm during the lockdown.

• The fraction of fossil fuel in BC concentrations dropped to 0.43.

Abstract

China has been performing nationwide social lockdown by releasing the Level 1 response to major public health emergencies (RMPHE) to struggle against the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak since late January 2020. During the Level 1 RMPHE, social production and public transport were maintained at minimal levels, and residents stayed in and worked from home. The universal impact of anthropogenic activities on air pollution can be evaluated by comparing it with air quality under such extreme conditions. We investigated the concentration of both gaseous and particulate pollutants and aerosol light absorption at different levels of (RMPHE) in an urban area of southwestern China. During the lockdown, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO_x, and BC decreased by 30–50%, compared to the pre-Level 1 RMPHE period. Meanwhile, the decrease of NO_x caused the rise of O₃ by up to 2.3 times due to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) limitation. The aerosol light absorption coefficient at multiple wavelengths decreased by 50%, and AAE decreased by 20% during the Level 1 RMPHE. BrC played essential roles in light absorption after the RMPHE was announced, accounting for 54.0% of the aerosol absorption coefficient at 370 nm. Moreover, the lockdown down-weighted the fraction of fossil fuel in BC concentrations to 0.43 (minima). This study characterizes air pollution at the most basic level and can provide policymakers with references for the “baseline.”