key: cord-0854420-0c7u90ug authors: Rodríguez-Urrego, Daniella; Rodríguez-Urrego, Leonardo title: Air quality during the COVID-19: PM(2.5) analysis in the 50 most polluted capital cities in the world() date: 2020-07-03 journal: Environ Pollut DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115042 sha: 946b950d66c92da77e88706f5053441dffb6d883 doc_id: 854420 cord_uid: 0c7u90ug On December 31, 2019, the Chinese authorities reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus that causes a serious disease in the city of Wuhan, China. This outbreak was classified as SARS-CoV2 and is the cause of the COVID-19 disease. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declares it a Pandemic and today it is considered the greatest challenge in global health that humanity has faced since World War II and it is estimated that between 40 and 60% of the population worldwide will catch the virus. This has caused enormous challenges in countries around the world in social, economic, environmental and obviously health issues. These challenges are mainly due to the effects of the established quarantines in almost all capitals and major cities around the world, from Asia, Europe to America. However, these lockdown which began worldwide from January 23, have had a significant impact on the environment and on the air quality of cities as recently reported by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and ESA (European Space Agency), with reductions according to them of up to 30% in some of the epicenters such as the case of Wuhan. Knowing that air pollution causes approximately 29% of lung cancer deaths, 43% of COPD deaths, and 25% of ischemic heart disease deaths, it is important to know the effects of quarantines in cities regarding air quality to take measures that favor populations and urban ecosystems when the emergency ends. Therefore, this paper describes the behavior of PM(2.5) emissions particulate matter from the 50 most polluted capital cities in the world according to the WHO, measured before-after the start of the quarantine. Likewise, the impact at the local and global level of this emissions behavior, which averaged 12% of PM(2.5) decrease in these cities. the case of Wuhan. Knowing that air pollution causes approximately 29% of lung cancer deaths, 43% of COPD deaths, and 25% of 23 ischemic heart disease deaths, it is important to know the effects of quarantines in cities regarding air quality to take measures that 24 favor populations and urban ecosystems when the emergency ends. Therefore, this paper describes the behavior of PM 2.5 emissions 25 particulate matter from the 50 most polluted capital cities in the world according to the WHO, measured before-after the start of the 26 quarantine. Likewise, the impact at the local and global level of this emissions behavior, which averaged 12% of PM 2.5 decrease in 27 these cities. Main finding 30 12% of PM 2.5 reduction in the 50 most contaminated capitals cities of the world during the lockdown by COVID-19 and a the greatest 31 PM 2.5 reduction in a capital city was 57%. Currently, socio-ecological systems have a great impact on companies, cities and territories; the 36 sustainability and technology associated with smart cities are merged to better understand the 37 behavior of this type of systems, and the data provides cities and territories with the information 38 necessary for sufficient monitoring and evaluation leading to coherent environmental policies in 39 adaptive environments (Waylen et al., 2019) . It is necessary to formulate new socio-ecological 40 models that allow describing the coevolution of the economy, the environment and society in the 41 face of the dynamics of wealth and population (Ursino, 2019) . However, few models efficiently 42 predict the entry of random variables into these complex processes, which validate their evolution 43 over time. One of the clearest examples of a chaotic variable is climate, however, there are other 44 variables that can quickly intervene in a socio-ecological system and wreak havoc, such as a virus. 45 For example, in Brisbane, Australia ecological factors appear to have played an important role in 46 H1N1 transmission cycles (Hu et al., 2012) , with temperature and precipitation being substantial 47 variables in the evolution of the virus. There are some other works of socioeconomic studies and 48 viruses such as (Mamelund et al., 2019) , where a study is carried out between the socioeconomic 49 levels and the influenza-related pandemics of 1918 and 2009. The foregoing demonstrates the 50 importance of correlating the factors that can substantially alter the socio-ecological systems in 51 which we live and to be able to study their evolution and impact on society. 52 One of the key factors in recent years, which has been the subject of several scientific studies, is 53 the impact of poor air quality on people's health and its consequences over time. The and transport systems to be closed. On the other hand, oil demand has dropped and producers are 74 running out of places to store all the excess barrels of oil as it has fallen below $0 US per barrel. 75 However, this pandemic also caused air quality to improve in many of the world's cities, reducing 76 environmental pollution. This global closure has made it possible to obtain interesting environmental 77 data for analysis and several scientific investigations related precisely to these socio-ecological 78 changes. 79 In China, for example, CO 2 emissions were reduced by 25% and by 6% worldwide according to 80 (Hanaoka and Masui, 2020) . In (Dutheil et al., 2020) , an initial comparative analysis was made of the 81 number of deaths from COVID-19 and the number of annual air quality deaths with respect to 82 nitrogen dioxide NO 2 emissions. This analysis was based on data obtained by satellite (NASA, 2020) 83 showing the advantages that the isolation of the population in their homes has had due to the 84 emergency by the shutdown of industries and vehicle mobility (Tan et al., 2009 indicate that long-term exposure to particulate pollutants may be a major contributor to coronavirus 99 mortality, not only in these regions, but in the rest of the world (Ogen, 2020). 100 All these analyses described above are necessary to evaluate the socio-ecological and socio-101 economic changes in all the cities of the world and try to show the positive impacts in order to obtain 102 some benefits from this global crisis. Ultimately, this paper uses data from the weather stations of the 103 50 most polluted cities in the world and makes a comparison of air quality with respect to PM 2.5 104 particulate matter before and during the quarantine of each capital city. 105 In the year 2019 a study was presented on Meteosim online platform where they made an 107 analysis on the most polluting capitals in the world (Meteosim, 2019) . This research indicates that 108 one of the most dangerous pollutants is fine particulate matter with diameters ≤2.5µm (PM 2.5 ), so the 109 analysis of the fifty most contaminated capitals was carried out. Based on the above information and 110 according to the automotive and industrial paralysis in the world by COVID-19, for this research 111 they were collected the PM 2.5 data from an online platform (WAQ Index, 2020 In this context, the research process in the paper has been divided into five main steps. 1. 121 Identification of the 50 most polluted capital cities. 2. Review of the quarantine information. 3. Data 122 collection of population and the weather stations. 4. PM 2.5 Data extraction. 5. Graphics and analysis. 123 One of the most important guidelines carried out by the WHO in matters of air quality is not to 125 exceed 10μg/m 3 of annual average concentration or 25μg/m 3 of 24-hour concentrations, for that 126 reason Meteosim (2019), presents the cities that exceed 10μg/m 3 of annual average in the year 2018. 127 Table 1 shows the start of the quarantine or the alarm status of the world's most polluted capitals. As 128 shown in the 195 196 From Figure 3 to 4 it can be seen the seventeen (17) of 58 μg/m 3 . As well as, the period in confinement in Bogota, presents the greatest decrease in 229 the cities analyzed during the Qut, with a 57% PM 2.5 reduction. Santiago de Chile, does not 230 present quarantine in the entire city but in seven specific communes, which registers a 10% 231 reduction in the concentration of this particulate matter. Mexico City presents a voluntary 232 quarantine by the population without government restrictions, however a 2% reduction is 233 observed during the study week in Qut. (Figure 5 ). 234 Kampala, as the only registered capital with a high AQI level, registers a weekly average of 146 235 μg/m 3 during the study week BQut. During the quarantine season and with the prohibition of 236 vehicles and the closure of all stores except food, the PM 2.5 concentration was reduced by 35%, 237 going to a moderate AQI level. The state of air quality is based on the environmental monitoring stations that are available in 246 each city. These stations determine the hourly concentration of air pollutant particles, including 247 PM 2.5 and PM 10 particles. According to the WHO (World Health Organization, 2018), air pollution 248 represents a major environmental health risk. For this reason, it is so important to have air quality 249 monitored in cities, essentially in capital cities, and in this case, it is more important to monitor PM 2.5 250 due to the risks explained in the introduction. Therefore, it is essential to know how environmental 251 control of capitals is, for this, it is essential to know the number of meteorological stations that 252 measure PM 2.5 . Likewise, it should be considered that the analysis of any study is oriented to an economic system 285 that restricts the conditions of each country. In this case, when analyzed by continents and 286 population, Europe with a GDP higher than the South American or Asian economies, presents a 287 greater boost in reducing emissions of polluting particles. This, indicating that the continent has a 288 good AQI index and an optimal Pp/ES ratio for environmental analysis. Their concern for the 289 environment and compliance with the Kyoto protocol and the commitments to COP21 are reflected 290 in their environmental indicators. This continent recognizes that air quality influences labor 291 productivity, investments in healthcare expenses and improvement in quality of life, among others. 292 In contrast, the Asian continent, with an unfavorable view compared to other continents, it is 293 observed that the Asian economies are the main contributors to environmental pollution, which is 294 why it attributes to greater inequality and poverty. This allows linking to this study (Fig. 6) where a 295 low update is observed in technologies that monitor the quality air in Asian cities, this reflected in 296 the low Pp/Es ratio. This indicates the low commitment to improve the life quality and the low 297 incentives to reduce the cost attributed by air pollution. In general, the most densified in population 298 cities reflect PM 2.5 contamination high with rates higher than 50 µg/m3. 299 300 Making a global balance of the analyzed countries, the variation of the PM 2.5 concentration had an 303 average reduction of 12%. The highest reduction occurs in the African continent with one (1) country 304 analyzed (33%), followed by the American continent (22%) and the Asian continent (16%); finally, 305 the European continent, in which a favorable reduction result is not generally observed (5%). Figure 306 7 shows the PM 2.5 variation in a global map of capital cities. The absolute value of the variation can 307 be identified by size of the circle. In red we find the cities with increases in their PM 2.5 measurement 308 and in pink the cities with PM 2.5 reduction, the city with the greatest PM 2.5 reduction within the data 309 collected is Bogota, with a reduction of 57% compared to a typical week. Based on the data collection of the concentration of the most harmful particles for health (PM 2.5 ), 336 in the different capital cities of the world, a comparative analysis of the concentration was carried out 337 during a typical time of normal mobility and during the lockdown. The behavior patterns show as a 338 result a decrease in their concentration during the confinement season, favorably restoring the air 339 quality of most cities analyzed. If these data are subsequently correlated with the activities stopped 340 during the confinement of each city, one can think of public policies that promote new socio-341 ecological models, as well as coherent environmental policies in these adaptive environments that are 342 the cities. In general, the results showed that automobile demobilization and factory shutdowns play 343 an important role in reducing pollution in capitals. For the fifty countries analyzed, Bogotá 344 (Colombia) (Insider, 2019) , as one of the cities with the most traffic in the world, with a 65% 345 concentration of traffic during the day, presents the PM 2.5 greatest reduction. during the period of 346 confinement with 57%. Likewise, Delhi (India), the most polluted capital city in the world, presents a 347 decrease in PM 2.5 contamination of 40%. Some specific conclusions of the research are: i. During 348 lockdown, Europe maintains a Good AQI level of less than 50 µg/m3, followed by America with a 349 Moderate AQI level (57 μg/m 3 ), Asia (82 μg/m 3 ) and Africa (95 μg/m 3 ). ii. America presented the 350 highest distinction in the PM 2.5 decrease air pollution. between a typical period of conventional 351 mobility and a period of confinement, with a reduction of 22%. iii. The capitals that in typical days 352 (BQut) present a moderate AQI level and which presented a PM 2.5 decrease between 60% and 20% 353 during the period of confinement (Qut), such as: Bogotá, Kubait City, Delhi, Tehran, Taskhkent, 354 Ulaanbaatar, kabul and Colombo; They must present alternatives to reduce the displacement of fossil 355 fuel vehicles and stricter regulations for their factories. 356 357 This study considered the relationship between population and Pp/ES air quality stations, where the 358 number of stations per inhabitant is obviously higher in developed countries than in emerging 359 countries. 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Ambient (outdoor) air pollution [WWW Document ☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: