Status of Air Pollution during COVID-19-Induced Lockdown in Delhi, India

In Atmosphere
Peer-reviewed Article
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To monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), India, during the last week
of March 2020, imposed national restrictions on the movement of its citizens (lockdown). Although
India’s economy was shut down due to restrictions, the nation observed a sharp decline in particulate
matter (PM) concentrations. In recent years, Delhi has experienced rapid economic growth, leading
to pollution, especially in urban and industrial areas. In this paper, we explored the linkages between
air quality and the nationwide lockdown of the city of Delhi using a geographic information system
(GIS)-based approach. Data from 37 stations were monitored from 12 March, 2020 to 2 April, 2020 and
it was found that the Air Quality Index for the city was almost reduced by 37% and 46% concerning
PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. The study highlights that, in regular conditions, the atmosphere’s
natural healing rate against anthropogenic activities is lower, as indicated by a higher AQI. However,
during the lockdown, this sudden cessation of anthropogenic activities leads to a period in which
the natural healing rate is greater than the induced disturbances, resulting in a lower AQI, and thus
proving that this pandemic has given a small window for the environment to breathe and helped the
districts of Delhi to recover from serious issues related to bad air quality. If such healing windows are
incorporated into policy and decision-making, these can prove to be effective measures for controlling
air pollution in heavily polluted regions of the World.

Author:
Harikesh
Singh
Gowhar
Meraj
Sachchidanand
Singh
Vaibhav
Shrivastava
Vishal
Sharma
Majid
Farooq
Shruti
Kanga
Suraj Kumar
Singh
Date: