Spatiotemporal variations and reduction of air pollutants during the COVID-19 pandemic in a megacity of Yangtze River Delta in China

In recent decades, air pollution has become an important environmental problem in the megacities of eastern China. How to control air pollution in megacities is still a challenging issue because of the complex pollutant sources, atmospheric chemistry, and meteorology. There is substantial uncertainty in accurately identifying the contributions of transport and local emissions to the air quality in megacities. The COVID-19 outbreak has prompted a nationwide public lockdown period and provides a valuable opportunity for understanding the sources and factors of air pollutants. The three-month period of continuous field observations for aerosol particles and gaseous pollutants, which extended from January 2020 to March 2020, covered urban, urban-industry, and suburban areas in the typical megacity of Hangzhou in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China. In general, the concentrations of PM(2.5)(–)(10), PM(2.5), NO(x), SO(2), and CO reduced 58%, 47%, 83%, 11% and 30%, respectively, in the megacity during the COVID-Lock period. The reduction proportions of PM(2.5) and CO were generally higher in urban and urban-industry areas than those in suburban areas. NO(x) exhibited the greatest reduction (>80%) among all the air pollutants, and the reduction was similar in the urban, urban-industry, and suburban areas. O(3) increased 102%–125% during the COVID-Lock period. The daytime elevation of the planetary boundary layer height can reduce 30% of the PM(10), PM(2.5), NO(x) and CO concentrations on the ground in Hangzhou. During the long-range transport events, air pollutants on the regional scale likely contribute 40%–90% of the fine particles in the Hangzhou urban area. The findings highlight the future control and model forecasting of air pollutants in Hangzhou and similar megacities in eastern China.