Assessment of variations in air quality in cities of Ecuador in relation to the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic

This study analyzes the effect of lockdown due to COVID-19 on the spatiotemporal variability of ozone (O(3)), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) concentrations in different provinces of continental Ecuador using satellite information from Sentinel – 5P. The statistical analysis includes data from 2018 to March 2021 and was performed based on three periods defined a priori: before, during, and after lockdown due to COVID-19, focusing on the provinces with the highest concentrations of the studied gases (hotspots). The results showed a significant decrease in NO(2) concentrations during the COVID-19 lockdown period in all the study areas: the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ) and the provinces of Guayas and Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. In the period after lockdown, NO(2) concentrations increased by over 20% when compared to the pre-lockdown period, which may be attributable to a shift towards private transportation due to health concerns. On the other hand, SO(2) concentrations during the lockdown period showed irregular, non-significant variations; however, increases were observed in the provinces of Chimborazo, Guayas, Santa Elena, and Morona Santiago, which could be partly attributed to the eruptive activity of the Sangay volcano during 2019–2020. Conversely, O(3) concentrations increased by 2–3% in the study areas; this anomalous behavior could be attributed to decreased levels of NO(x), which react with ozone, reducing its concentration. Finally, satellite data validation using the corresponding data from monitoring stations in the DMQ showed correlation values of 0.9 for O(3) data and 0.7 for NO(2) data, while no significant correlation was found for SO(2).