Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan

Akhtar Shareef; Durdana Rais Hashmi

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan

Akhtar Shareef, Durdana Rais Hashmi

Published in Journal of Health and Environmental Research (Volume 6, Issue 3)

Received: 17 July 2020 Accepted: 31 July 2020 Published: 27 August 2020

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Abstract

A novel infectious disease (COVID-19) was identified in the late months of 2019, with human to human transmission, and rapidly spread in the world, which now has turned into a global pandemic. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is extremely threatening world public health problem. Up-till now, more than 200 countries and states had been affected by this pandemic. The number of contagions and deaths still increasing day by day. Different steps have been taken worldwide to control COVID-19. Countries all over the world have applied specific type of lockdown in order to control / slow down the intensity of infection and mitigate it. This lockdown due to COVID-19 not only smashed the economic growth but also exert a positive impact on the environment and improves the level of air quality in the city/country. This study was carried out for investigation of air quality before and during the periods of lockdown levied to reduce the spread of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the environment of Karachi city. Concentrations of four pollutant parameters (PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂ and CO) were used to calculate the results according to the criteria of Air Quality Index (AQI). We have analyzed data collected from fourteen different monitoring locations along the busy roads in commercial, residential and industrial areas of Karachi during the lockdown period. Data were compared to the five-year monthly mean and to the four-week before the partial lockdown. The results proved that during lockdown air quality is significantly improved. Among the selected pollutants, concentrations of PM₁₀ have observed maximum reduction (50%) in comparison to the before lockdown period. In compare to the last year (i.e. 2019) during the said time period the reduction of PM₁₀ is as high as about 60%. Among other pollutants, SO₂, NO₂ and CO the level have also reduced about 60-70% during lockdown period. About 40% to 50% improvement in air quality is identified just after four days of commencing lockdown. Overall, the study is assumed to be a useful tool to the regulatory bodies to control the air quality and also explained its relation to health hazards to provide awareness in the society.

Published in	Journal of Health and Environmental Research (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17
Page(s)	93-97
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Air Pollution, COVID-19, Lock Down

References

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APA Style

Akhtar Shareef, Durdana Rais Hashmi. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan. Journal of Health and Environmental Research, 6(3), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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ACS Style

Akhtar Shareef; Durdana Rais Hashmi. Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan. J. Health Environ. Res. 2020, 6(3), 93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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AMA Style

Akhtar Shareef, Durdana Rais Hashmi. Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan. J Health Environ Res. 2020;6(3):93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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@article{10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17,
  author = {Akhtar Shareef and Durdana Rais Hashmi},
  title = {Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan},
  journal = {Journal of Health and Environmental Research},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {93-97},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jher.20200603.17},
  abstract = {A novel infectious disease (COVID-19) was identified in the late months of 2019, with human to human transmission, and rapidly spread in the world, which now has turned into a global pandemic. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is extremely threatening world public health problem. Up-till now, more than 200 countries and states had been affected by this pandemic. The number of contagions and deaths still increasing day by day. Different steps have been taken worldwide to control COVID-19. Countries all over the world have applied specific type of lockdown in order to control / slow down the intensity of infection and mitigate it. This lockdown due to COVID-19 not only smashed the economic growth but also exert a positive impact on the environment and improves the level of air quality in the city/country. This study was carried out for investigation of air quality before and during the periods of lockdown levied to reduce the spread of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the environment of Karachi city. Concentrations of four pollutant parameters (PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO) were used to calculate the results according to the criteria of Air Quality Index (AQI). We have analyzed data collected from fourteen different monitoring locations along the busy roads in commercial, residential and industrial areas of Karachi during the lockdown period. Data were compared to the five-year monthly mean and to the four-week before the partial lockdown. The results proved that during lockdown air quality is significantly improved. Among the selected pollutants, concentrations of PM10 have observed maximum reduction (50%) in comparison to the before lockdown period. In compare to the last year (i.e. 2019) during the said time period the reduction of PM10 is as high as about 60%. Among other pollutants, SO2, NO2 and CO the level have also reduced about 60-70% during lockdown period. About 40% to 50% improvement in air quality is identified just after four days of commencing lockdown. Overall, the study is assumed to be a useful tool to the regulatory bodies to control the air quality and also explained its relation to health hazards to provide awareness in the society.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan
AU - Akhtar Shareef
AU - Durdana Rais Hashmi
Y1 - 2020/08/27
PY - 2020
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17
DO - 10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17
T2 - Journal of Health and Environmental Research
JF - Journal of Health and Environmental Research
JO - Journal of Health and Environmental Research
SP - 93
EP - 97
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2472-3592
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17
AB - A novel infectious disease (COVID-19) was identified in the late months of 2019, with human to human transmission, and rapidly spread in the world, which now has turned into a global pandemic. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is extremely threatening world public health problem. Up-till now, more than 200 countries and states had been affected by this pandemic. The number of contagions and deaths still increasing day by day. Different steps have been taken worldwide to control COVID-19. Countries all over the world have applied specific type of lockdown in order to control / slow down the intensity of infection and mitigate it. This lockdown due to COVID-19 not only smashed the economic growth but also exert a positive impact on the environment and improves the level of air quality in the city/country. This study was carried out for investigation of air quality before and during the periods of lockdown levied to reduce the spread of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the environment of Karachi city. Concentrations of four pollutant parameters (PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO) were used to calculate the results according to the criteria of Air Quality Index (AQI). We have analyzed data collected from fourteen different monitoring locations along the busy roads in commercial, residential and industrial areas of Karachi during the lockdown period. Data were compared to the five-year monthly mean and to the four-week before the partial lockdown. The results proved that during lockdown air quality is significantly improved. Among the selected pollutants, concentrations of PM10 have observed maximum reduction (50%) in comparison to the before lockdown period. In compare to the last year (i.e. 2019) during the said time period the reduction of PM10 is as high as about 60%. Among other pollutants, SO2, NO2 and CO the level have also reduced about 60-70% during lockdown period. About 40% to 50% improvement in air quality is identified just after four days of commencing lockdown. Overall, the study is assumed to be a useful tool to the regulatory bodies to control the air quality and also explained its relation to health hazards to provide awareness in the society.
VL - 6
IS - 3
ER -

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Author Information

Akhtar Shareef

Centre for Environmental Studies, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories Complex, Karachi, Pakistan
Durdana Rais Hashmi

Centre for Environmental Studies, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratories Complex, Karachi, Pakistan

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APA Style

Akhtar Shareef, Durdana Rais Hashmi. (2020). Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan. Journal of Health and Environmental Research, 6(3), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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ACS Style

Akhtar Shareef; Durdana Rais Hashmi. Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan. J. Health Environ. Res. 2020, 6(3), 93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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AMA Style

Akhtar Shareef, Durdana Rais Hashmi. Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan. J Health Environ Res. 2020;6(3):93-97. doi: 10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17

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@article{10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17,
  author = {Akhtar Shareef and Durdana Rais Hashmi},
  title = {Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Air Quality Index (AQI) During Partial Lockdown in Karachi Pakistan},
  journal = {Journal of Health and Environmental Research},
  volume = {6},
  number = {3},
  pages = {93-97},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jher.20200603.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jher.20200603.17},
  abstract = {A novel infectious disease (COVID-19) was identified in the late months of 2019, with human to human transmission, and rapidly spread in the world, which now has turned into a global pandemic. The coronavirus (COVID-19) is extremely threatening world public health problem. Up-till now, more than 200 countries and states had been affected by this pandemic. The number of contagions and deaths still increasing day by day. Different steps have been taken worldwide to control COVID-19. Countries all over the world have applied specific type of lockdown in order to control / slow down the intensity of infection and mitigate it. This lockdown due to COVID-19 not only smashed the economic growth but also exert a positive impact on the environment and improves the level of air quality in the city/country. This study was carried out for investigation of air quality before and during the periods of lockdown levied to reduce the spread of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the environment of Karachi city. Concentrations of four pollutant parameters (PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO) were used to calculate the results according to the criteria of Air Quality Index (AQI). We have analyzed data collected from fourteen different monitoring locations along the busy roads in commercial, residential and industrial areas of Karachi during the lockdown period. Data were compared to the five-year monthly mean and to the four-week before the partial lockdown. The results proved that during lockdown air quality is significantly improved. Among the selected pollutants, concentrations of PM10 have observed maximum reduction (50%) in comparison to the before lockdown period. In compare to the last year (i.e. 2019) during the said time period the reduction of PM10 is as high as about 60%. Among other pollutants, SO2, NO2 and CO the level have also reduced about 60-70% during lockdown period. About 40% to 50% improvement in air quality is identified just after four days of commencing lockdown. Overall, the study is assumed to be a useful tool to the regulatory bodies to control the air quality and also explained its relation to health hazards to provide awareness in the society.},
 year = {2020}
}

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