Comparison of air pollutants and their health effects in two developed regions in China during the COVID-19 pandemic

Air pollution attributed to substantial anthropogenic emissions and significant secondary formation processes have been reported frequently in China, especially in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD). In order to investigate the aerosol evolution processes before, in, and after the novel coronavirus (COVID19) lockdown period of 2020, ambient monitoring data of six air pollutants were analyzed from Jan 1 to Apr 11 in both 2020 and 2019. Our results showed that the six ambient pollutants concentrations were much lower during the COVID-19 lockdown due to a great reduction of anthropogenic emissions. BTH suffered from air pollution more seriously in comparison of YRD, suggesting the differences in the industrial structures of these two regions. The significant difference between the normalized ratios of CO and NO2 during COVID-19 lockdown, along with the increasing PM2.5, indicated the oxidation of NO2 to form nitrate and the dominant contribution of secondary processes on PM2.5. In addition, the most health risk factor was PM2.5 and healthrisked based air quality index (HAQI) values during the COVID-19 pandemic in YRD in 2020 were all lower than those in 2019. Our findings suggest that the reduction of anthropogenic emissions is essential to mitigate PM2.5 pollution, while O3 control may be more complicated.

Automated summary

Air pollution in China is mainly caused by substantial anthropogenic emissions and significant secondary formation processes. During the COVID-19 lockdown, a reduction in anthropogenic emissions led to lower concentrations of six ambient pollutants, with BTH suffering from more serious air pollution compared to YRD. The increase in PM2.5 and differences in CO and NO2 ratios during the lockdown period indicate the dominant contribution of secondary processes on PM2.5, emphasizing the importance of reducing anthropogenic emissions to mitigate PM2.5 pollution.