Spatiotemporal characteristics and co-effects of air quality and carbon dioxide emissions changes during the COVID-19 epidemic lockdown measures in China

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted several nations, including China, to enact unprecedented lockdown measures, leading to significant alterations in environmental conditions. Previous studies have solely analysed the impact of lockdown measures on air pollutants or carbon dioxide (CO(2)) emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, but few have focused on the spatio-temporal change characteristics and synergistic effects between the two. In this study, we constructed a methodological framework to examine the spatiotemporal characteristics and co-effects of air quality (PM(2.5), SO(2), and NO(2)) and CO(2) changes in 324 prefecture-level cities in China due to the COVID-19 blockade measures from January 24 to April 30, 2020, using the regression discontinuity in time method and co-effect control coordinate system. The results show that a significant improvement in air quality and CO(2) emissions during the lockdown period, with notable north‒south heterogeneity. During the major lockdown period (January 24 to February 29), the measures resulted in respective reductions of 5.6%, 16.6%, and 25.1% in the concentrations of SO(2), NO(2), and CO(2) nationwide. The proportions of cities with negative treatment effects on PM(2.5), SO(2), NO(2), and CO(2) were 39.20%, 70.99%, 84.6%, and 99.38%, respectively. Provinces where concentrations of CO(2) and NO(2) declined by over 30% were primarily concentrated in southern areas of the ‘Yangtze River Defense Line’. Starting from March, the improvement effect of air quality and CO(2) has weakened, and the concentration of air pollutants has rebounded. This study offers crucial insights into the causal effects of lockdown measures on air quality changes, and reveals the synergy between air quality and CO(2), thereby providing a reference for devising effective air quality improvement and energy-saving emission reduction strategies.