Air pollution and critical air pollutant assessment during and after COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from pandemic hotspots in China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and India

The COVID-19 virus outbreak has been declared a “global pandemic”. Therefore, “lockdown” was issued in affected countries to control the spread of the virus. To assess air pollution during and after lockdowns, this study selected pandemic hotspots in China (Wuhan), Japan (Tokyo), the Republic of Korea (Daegu), and India (Mumbai) and compared the Air Quality Index (AQI) in these areas for the past three years. The results indicated that air pollution levels were positively correlated with a reduction in pollutant levels during and after lockdowns in these cities. In Tokyo, low levels of air pollution, no significant change in the distribution of “good” and “moderate” days was observed during lockdown. In Daegu, mid-level air pollution, the percentage of “unhealthy” days (AQI>100) markedly reduced during lockdown; however, this reverted after lockdown was lifted. In Wuhan and Mumbai, high air pollution levels, the percentage of unhealthy days remarkably decreased during lockdown and continued to reduce after lockdown. It was found that PM(2.5) was the critical pollutant for all cities because its sub-AQI was the largest of the six pollutant species for the majority of days. In addition, PM(10) dominated the overall AQI for 2.2–9.6% of the period in Wuhan and Mumbai, and its sub-AQI reduced during lockdown. The mean sub-AQI for NO(2), SO(2), CO, and O(3) was within the “good” category for all cities. In conclusion, the lockdown policy reduced air pollution in general and this reduction was more significant for regions with high air pollution levels.