Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on ambient air quality in megacities of India and implication for air pollution control strategies

The impact of restrictions during various phases of COVID-19 lockdown on daily mean PM(2.5) concentration in five Indian megacities (New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad) was studied. The impact was studied for pre-lockdown (1st Mar–24th Mar 2020), lockdown (25th Mar–31st May 2020), and unlocking (1st Jun–31st Aug 2020) phases. The lockdown period comprises 4 lockdown phases with distinct measures, whereas the unlocking period had 3 phases. PM(2.5) concentration reduced significantly in all megacities and met the national standards during the lockdown period. The maximum reduction in PM(2.5) level was observed in Kolkata (62%), followed by Mumbai (49%), Chennai (34%), and New Delhi (26%) during the lockdown period. Comparatively, Hyderabad exhibited a smaller reduction in PM(2.5) concentration, i.e., 10%. The average PM(2.5) levels during the lockdown in the peak hour (i.e., 07:00−11:00 h) in New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Hyderabad decreased by 21.3%, 48.5%, 63.4%, 56.4%, and 23.8%, respectively, compared to those before lockdown period. During the unlocking period, except for Chennai, all megacities showed a reduction in average PM(2.5) levels compared to concentrations in the lockdown period, but these reductions were mainly linked with monsoon rains in India. The current study provided an opportunity to study air pollution in the absence of major anthropogenic activities and during limited activities in monsoon season having an ecological design. The study reports a new baseline of PM(2.5), except for monsoon, and explores this knowledge to plan future air pollution reduction strategies. The study also discusses how this new learning of knowledge could strengthen air pollution control policies for better air quality and sustainability. Graphical abstract [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-020-11808-7.